


Team Confidence Sees a Shrink

by Disparatepeace



Category: Great Pretender (Anime)
Genre: Angst, Asexual Abby, Attempted Sexual Abuse Mention, Bisexual Laurent, Character Study, Hurt/Comfort, Incest Mention, M/M, Mentions of Child Trafficking, Mentions of PTSD, Post-Case 4: Wizard of Far East, Someone really just needs to call Laurent and the rest of the team out on their shit, Therapy, both boys need to work out there issues, but its very complicated, but yeah they all still need some professional help, there is some edaurent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:20:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27869829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Disparatepeace/pseuds/Disparatepeace
Summary: After their final case, the team decides to seek professional help in order to process a very hard and even traumatic experience.
Relationships: Edamura Makoto & Abigail Jones & Cynthia Moore & Laurent Thierry, Edamura Makoto & Laurent Thierry, Edamura Makoto/Laurent Thierry
Comments: 12
Kudos: 128





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> So I've actually had this idea not to long after Case 4 was released in Japan back in September. And yeah after that whole fiasco, all of them needed to talk to a therapist. Especially that poor boy Makoto who had the worst experience during that whole damn con. I mean were they really going to let him spend months thinking that his friends were dead and that he killed his father in retribution? Or that he had to work for fucking Child Traffickers for two months straight? What the actual fuck?!!
> 
> Yeah that kinda left me pissed, So I really need this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've actually had this idea not to long after Case 4 was released in Japan back in September. And yeah after that whole fiasco, all of them needed to talk to a therapist. Especially that poor boy Makoto who had the worst experience during that whole damn con. I mean were they really going to let him spend months thinking that his friends were dead and that he killed his father in retribution? Or that he had to work for fucking Child Traffickers for two months straight? What the actual fuck?!!
> 
> Yeah that kinda left me pissed, So I really need this.

“NOT IN A MILLION FUCKING YEARS!” cried out an angry Makoto Edamura, who looked as if he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. 

“It really would do you some good, Edamame. The both of you!” Cynthia countered calmly. 

“I don’t need to see a therapist!” The Japanese male continued to argue. 

“You pointed a katana at your dad, had a breakdown at the end of the con and became buddy-buddy with Casano and the other two scumbags we scammed.” Abbie stated bluntly, but not harshly. 

“That’s because you all once again tricked me into another one of your sick schemes, had me work with CHILD TRAFFICKERS for fuck’s sake, made me think you and Cynthia were dead for months, and that I killed my own father out of retribution, ONLY for you to spring this shit on me months later that you were actually alive, but you thought it was appropriate to leave me in the dark about it!” 

“Which is exactly why you need to talk to someone about this.” Cynthia reassured. “That obviously was a stressful, traumatic experience you went through, and it’s not healthy to let these feelings linger. So it only makes sense to seek professional help, that way you can better move on.”

“What I NEED is for you to stop inserting yourselves into my life and dragging me into your cons when I don’t want anything to do with it.” Makoto almost yelled. 

“Obviously your problems run a lot deeper than just that.” Abbie retorted. Her brutal honesty not wavering in the slightest.

Makoto scoffed before he continued.

“Even if I agreed to it, what the hell am I even supposed to say? _That I’ve been scamming rich assholes out of their money, with my most recent con targeting a child trafficking ring which involved me confronting my estranged criminal father, whom which I had no idea was a scam artist this whole time, that I was tricked into thinking that I killed only because he tricked me into thinking that he killed my friends? And to top it all off, I’ve been coerced and manipulated by conniving blond bastard who’s hellbent on making me into one of his puppets?_ That totally sounds like information I would share with a civilian, professional or not!”

“She’s actually one of us.” Laurent finally spoke up. “In fact, you could say she’s Team Confidence’s official psychotherapist.”

“Wow! A therapist who’s a con artist. That doesn’t sound shady in the slightest.” Makoto intoned sarcastically. 

“This just means you don’t have to hide anything from her. You can be as open about your past activities as you want.” Cynthia said, placing a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “Plus Abby and I have both had sessions with her in the past and she helped us work through some internal struggles and past traumas we faced.”

“Really?” Makoto asked, turning to Abbie for confirmation. 

“She’s pretty legit.” the younger woman responded with a shrug. 

Makoto still wasn’t convinced. He didn’t really want to speak to anyone about the whole ordeal he faced. Much rather just forget it all and try to move on with his life. Though with what he went through these past couple of months he knew there’d be no way for him to move on so easily. He’d just end up being plagued with nightmares and guilt. It wouldn’t do him much harm to at least speak to a professional and get everything he was feeling off his chest. 

“Why the hell are you being so complacent with this?” he finally addressed Laurent, who had remained uncharacteristically nonverbal throughout most of the conversation. 

“Let’s just say that I learned a long time ago never to argue with Cynthia when she says she’s right about something.” the blonde answered, his usual air of smugness wasn’t present in his tone. If anything Laurent sounded almost defeated. 

“That’s because I am right and you know it.” The older woman declared. Glaring at the man before her.

Although watching Laurent getting owned by Cynthia was satisfying as hell, the fact that Laurent Thierry was complying to her demands meant that this wasn’t something you could argue with her about. 

“What am I even supposed to say to her?” Makoto questioned solemnly. 

“Whatever you need to say.” Cynthia stated smoothly. “And she still follows the confidentiality agreement for most of her patients. Unless they’re a target for a con, she won’t share any private information about them to anyone.” 

The Japanese youth grew silent, before letting out a dark chuckle. 

“So who’s to say that I’m not your target again? That you’re not just using this as just another ploy to trick me into another one of your stupid cons? Why should I trust anything you say? Or believe you won’t try to screw me over again?”

“The fact that you still think that is why you need to see her!” Abbie commented. Her usual air of indifference replaced by something resembling concern.

“Yeah! Well, how do you expect me to believe anything after what you put me through?” 

“Because you’ve done more than enough!” Laurent stated simply, yet gently. 

“Laurent’s right, Edamame!” Cynthia added, placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “We’ve already asked you for far too much in our plans. And I know you went through hell as a result. So please, let us help you get the help you need to move forward. It’s the least we can do.”

Makoto bit his lip, preventing himself from letting out a frustrated groan. In all honesty, there’s no reason for him to trust these people. Not after everything they put him through. Still, a part of him (probably the naive optimist he still had left) felt that this time they were being genuine. He looked up and caught the sight of Cynthia giving him a reassuring smile and Abbie not scowling at him this time (which, after knowing her long enough, meant that she cared). Laurent on the other hand, didn’t even look up. If anything he seemed just as perplexed about this whole arrangement as he did. If nothing else, he would enjoy seeing Laurent get picked apart by someone a lot smarter and better at reading people than he is. 

With a tired sigh, he made a decision. 

“So where is she exactly?”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Therapist OC will be introduced in the next chapter. And trust me she's going to set them all straight.


	2. Session 1: Makoto Edamura

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Makoto begins his first appointment with the good doctor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First session y'all! And Makoto is the first to get everything off his chest. Just what he needs and deserves after that. 
> 
> Fasten your seat belts, kids! Because this is LONG!!

Toronto, Ontario 11:59 am EST

Makoto sat anxiously in the waiting room. Cynthia had scheduled an appointment for all of them today, with his starting at noon. He wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea of flying all the way to Canada from Japan. Then again, a change in scenery would probably help him move past some of that trauma. Since his session was the first for the day, he went ahead and arrived early. 

He tapped his foot impatiently, checking the clock on his phone. It was only seconds away till noon, but he was already growing antsy. Then again he hadn’t exactly been in the best of moods these past couple of days. Hell, he had to stop himself from snapping at his Uber driver after he nearly missed his exit. He took a deep breath and leaned back, using that time to examine the room once more. It was small, yet still spacious with quite a bit of stylish furniture. He was also the only one here. The others didn’t have sessions until later on in the day, so they stayed back at the hotel. Makoto looked at his clock again. Now only one minute past his appointment time. He stared at the door to the office, silently hoping that no one would be coming out and that the session would be canceled. 

Until the handle turned, the door creeping open to reveal the occupant inside. A middle aged Vietnamese woman of average height, with dark shoulder length black hair and thin reading glasses. 

“Makoto Edamura, I presume?” she addressed the young man before her. 

He sighed and stood up. 

“That’s me.”

“Dr. Melinda Nguyen. It’s nice to finally meet you in person.” she introduced, extending her hand. 

“Nice to meet you too, doctor.” Makoto greeted, shaking her hand in return.

“Please come in.” she gestured inside the office.

Makoto complied, taking a step inside. The room had a much more modern feel to it, while keeping to the simplicity. The walls were plain and white, but the decor was quite lavish. There was a large couch on one side of the room with a chair across from it. Alongside a desk with various files of paperwork on it. And on the wall there were pictures of what looked like herself in multiple parts of the world. 

“Take a seat.” she requested, shutting the door behind them. 

Once again, he followed suit and sat on the plush couch. Meanwhile she took a seat on the chair across from him and placed her hands quite elegantly in her lap. Makoto on the other hand felt rather awkward about his current situation, fidgeting a bit in his seat and avoiding the woman’s gaze. 

“I’ve never actually been to a therapist before,” he confessed almost nervously. “I don’t really know what to say.”

“Well you can start by telling me a little bit about yourself and we can take it from there.” she suggested calmly. 

Makoto shifted uncomfortably, giving the doctor a pointed look. 

“In that case, do you mind telling me about yourself first? Like, is it true that you’re actually a Confidence Woman? And exactly how long have been acquainted with Laurent and the rest of the team?”

Rather than appearing offended by the interrogative speech, the doctor just shrugged and offered an understanding smile. 

“Fair enough.” she responded, crossing her legs casually and leaning closer. “I actually worked as Shi-won’s apprentice as a honey-trapper back in my youth.” 

She handed Makoto a picture frame of a younger Shi-won and a much younger version of herself posing rather seductively for the camera. 

“Together we conned several shady men out of their money, using our wits, our charm and even our bodies. Eventually I made enough cash for myself that I decided to go to school in America. Shi-Won supported me even though she had to continue with the job on our own. After years, I finally got my PhD in Psychology and started a clinic here in Toronto. That’s around the same time that Shi-Won began mentoring Dorothy and Oz joined not long afterwards. Eventually they recruited Laurent as well. I was never officially a part of Team Confidence, but they did come to me quite a few times for _‘professional advice’_ in dealing with targets. Having worked as a scam artist myself for many years along with my profession as a doctor, I was able to psycho-analyze many of their targets to get a better understanding on how to coerce them. I never got directly involved with any of the cons and I continued on with my work outside of the cons.”

Makoto eased more, but he didn’t drop his suspicions. 

“Not long after Dorothy was killed and Oz was jailed, Laurent went and recruited his own Team Confidence. Which included Cynthia, Abbie and eventually you as well Makoto. And I remained as the team’s unofficial advisor and therapist.” 

“So you already knew my father. And I’m sure Laurent already informed you about who I was. So you must know all you need to know about me, right?” Makoto’s tone was a lot more condescending than he intended. 

“You’re right. I did read your file!” She responded, not at all fazed by the youth’s hostility. “But honestly the best way to know someone is by hearing from them directly. Letting them tell you their story through their own words and giving their interpretation of the events that transpired in their own life.” 

Makoto paused and blinked in surprise. He really wasn’t used to this level of genuineness from any of the Confidence Men. Then again she was a therapist, so that’s to be expected. Shuffling in his seat a bit, he decided to open up. There wasn’t really any harm in it, was there?

“Dr. Nguyen-”

“You can call me Melinda.” 

“Well Melinda, I guess I should start at the beginning. Since I think that’s how therapy works.” 

Melinda offered him an understanding nod and prompted him to continue. 

“Growing up, my dad spent a lot of time away on business so it was mostly just my mom and me. Even then we were always so excited when he would come home and spend time with us. I remembered how he taught me to always do the right thing and to be a benefit to society. All while he was scamming people and working with criminals.”

“He may have just wanted that for you instead.” Melinda offered, her voice kept even and professional. 

“Still mighty hypocritical of him,” Makoto replied bitterly. “A man who vowed to uphold the law and fight for justice as a lawyer was doing the exact opposite behind the scenes. With his family blissfully unaware of his activities. Until the day everything went wrong and he got caught. I remember that day I came home from school, to find my mom watching the news and her husband’s name and picture showing. Saying he was involved in a child trafficking ring. The next thing I knew my mom was passed out on the floor from shock.”

Makoto gripped the cushion of the couch as he recalled some particularly infuriating memories. 

“That time I was reeling in shock myself, but what I felt most was betrayal and an unbridled level of rage. We didn’t show up to the trial. I never wanted to see his face again. It was a nightmare after that. Death threats, hate mail, nasty whispers, rumors from neighbors, and being shunned by classmates. Eventually we moved to Okinawa and my mom went back to her maiden name _Edamura_ . It wasn’t long until she got sick. _Cancer_. We drained out every last yen in our savings to pay for her treatment, but I knew if I was going to support her I would need to get a job. But no one was too keen on the idea of hiring the son of a supposed child trafficker. Eventually, in what I thought was a stroke of luck, I landed a job at a tea company. The one Kudou was running. I remember my mom was so happy that I managed to land a job despite my father’s history. I was just glad that I’d be able to pay off her medical bills. Obviously good things don’t really happen for me. The tea company turned out to be a scam and everyone was arrested, including me. I couldn’t afford a good attorney to defend myself, and my father’s criminal history made the officers all the more willing to convict me. I ended up serving three years, plus probation. When I got out, my mom was even more weak and frail looking than before. It broke my heart to see her like this, yet I stayed hopeful and optimistic for her sake. Continuing to find a job, but no one was hiring a convict son of a disgraced child trafficking lawyer with crimes involving fraud. Then….she lost her battle in the end.” 

Melinda gave the boy a sympathetic look, offering her condolences. Makoto merely brushed it off. 

“After that I confronted Kudou and asked him to teach me all of his tricks. That’s the moment I decided to become a full fledged scam artist.” 

“And I’m assuming you made that decision out of desperation since you weren’t able to find a job?” Melinda inquired. “It’s quite common for ex cons to return to a life of crime for those exact reasons.”

“Well that and the fact that my mother just died so I had nothing left to lose.” Makoto responded, his bitterness even more evident. “And if everyone wanted to paint me as a criminal based on things I had no control over, I thought I might as well embrace it and try to make a living off it.” 

“Did you feel guilty over that decision initially?” Melinda continued to probe. “Or just the idea of having to scam people?”

“Honestly, I was so bitter, broken and full of spite that I didn’t even care anymore,” Makoto recalled, before his expression transitioning from discontent to annoyance. “Then along came a man named Laurent Thierry.” 

At that, Melinda quirked an eyebrow. The young man’s change in expression at the mention of a certain blond didn’t go unnoticed to her. 

“And how did that encounter play out for you?” she questioned. 

Makoto let out a deep sigh, mentally preparing himself to recap the emotional rollercoaster ride he experienced. 

“Kudou and I were planning on scamming some naive, clueless foreigner with a simple wallet swap. Laurent was the target at the time, but he saw me coming and had swapped the wallets back at the last minute. We didn’t realize it until much later, when the wallet and money we thought we scammed from him was gone. What happened next involved an elaborate chase sequence involving what I thought was the police cornering us in my apartment, that led me running into Laurent for the second time that day. I ended up following him all the way to LA and for some reason he was perfectly fine with a complete stranger tagging along and trying to outscam him. Of course, that’s when I realized that it was all a part of his scheme to recruit me. Even got Kudou to go along with the plan, having his crew pose as the cops that chased me. That’s how I ended up being a part of Laurent’s con to scam Eddie Casano out of millions of dollars by posing as a drug developer for this made up _Sakura Magic_ drug.” 

“Going from scamming unassuming elders and tourists to taking on Hollywood mafia is quite a huge transition. Did you feel you were up to the task?” 

“Honestly, looking back it was obvious that I was just way in over my head. I guess the promise of a huge payday and being able to one up that smug blonde asshole was too tempting of an opportunity for me to pass up. I told myself that I wouldn’t get involved in drugs, but I guess I ended breaking my rule. Especially after Cassano and Laurent had me make the Sakura Magic or at least something resembling it. And then there was another part of the plan involving Cynthia posing as an FBI agent and her having me work with the police force to catch Cassano in the act for manufacturing drugs. Long story, Abbie and Laurent faked their deaths by pretending to be gunned down by the fake FBI and then I snapped because I thought it was real. They caught Cassano and Cynthia fake negotiated $100 million dollars for the photo evidence of him at the crime scene. I remembered being so angry at seeing someone whose job was to uphold the law and fight for justice negotiate with a criminal for money, right after they’d gunned down two people. Next thing I knew, I was knocked out and woke up on an exotic island with Laurent and Abbie showing up alive and well. That’s when I realized that the Sakura Magic scam was just part of a grander scheme involving their fake FBI and Cassano getting busted for drug manufacturing. In the end we walked out with a total of $110 million.”

Melinda whistled. 

“That’s quite the pay out you got in the end.” she commented. 

Makoto shrugged. 

“Truthfully, I just felt like shit by the end. The money didn’t even excite me. I was tricked into thinking I was drugged, attacked and hung from a Hollywood where I was dropped unceremoniously on my face after being cut down. Then I was in a car chase with the LAPD, had to learn how to make drugs under the threat of being brutalized by a violent mobster, and then watched the two people I teamed up with die.”

“So I’m assuming the danger you faced was what prompted you to rethink your life as a Confidence Man?” she questioned. 

“Well that was part of it.” Makoto began to explain. “But during the con, I met Cassano’s bodyguard Salazar and I stayed at his house while. He was a former gang leader who ended up working with Cassano to make end’s meet. His wife died and he had a young son who he didn’t get to see often. Overall he was a good man who just made a lot of mistakes early on. It reminded me a lot of myself and what I was becoming. And seeing him with his son just reawakened some of those old memories I had of my dad before his arrest. It opened my eyes and reminded me of who I truly was and the promise I made to my mother. So after the con ended, I took my cut of the money and turned it into the authorities back in Japan. I told them I wanted to repay all the people I had scammed. After that I was arrested on charges of fraud, and sent back to jail.”

“So you essentially turned yourself in to the police for your crimes?” Melinda asked a bit incredulously. “It was hard enough for you to get a job due to both your and even your father’s criminal history. A two-time offender on fraudulent charges would be way worse off.”

“Yeah well I had thought that if they had seen me try to make amends for my actions by paying back the people I've scammed and turning myself in, they’d actually give me a chance.” Makoto defended, rubbing the back of his head nervously before he continued. 

“Anyway after serving two years, Laurent contacted me and offered me to work with them again. But I turned him down, ready to start living an honest life. I had even gotten a job offer from the mechanic Nakanoshima. When I was released, I began my new job as a mechanic. Starting with automobiles, then graduating with aircraft. Of course, it wasn’t long until I found out that my hiring was a ploy by Laurent and the others to get me in on another one of their cons. This time involving a dirty Air Race in Singapore owned by Sam and Clark Ibrahim. And of course Nakanoshima was in on it the whole time, Laurent hiring him to train me as a mechanic for their con. Or at least to look like a convincing mechanic.” 

“And despite wanting to live an honest life for yourself like you said, you still chose to go along with their scheme?” Melinda probed, raising a brow. 

“Well it’s not like I had much of a choice!” Makoto almost yelled, before catching himself. “I somehow ended up back on Cynthia’s island. Who’s to say they wouldn’t just up and leave me there if I refused. Besides, they did tell me that they were just going to hire me as a mechanic. I should’ve known better than that.”

“So why did you end up going along in the end?” 

“Well it turns out that the Pathfinder Air Race were actually rigging all their races so that Clark Ibrahim would continue to be the undefeated champion while his brother Sam raked in all the profits. Then one day, Lewis Mueller decided that he didn’t want to play by the script anymore and win for a change. Until Sam overheard this and sabotaged his plane during the race. Causing him to crash and leaving him in a wheelchair. I might not like the idea of scamming people, but I certainly don’t want to let a scumbag like that get away with what he did. What came after, was a series of events that somehow led to me going undercover as Clark’s mechanic and getting into Sam’s good graces. And involved me leading him to a secret gambling ring set up by Laurent and the others. Of course, since he was in control of the race he thought it’d be an easy win for him. Meanwhile Abby was torturing herself in these races. Because apparently it’s totally a great idea for a survivor of an aerial bombing to be the one flying in a plane.”

“Abbie’s the type of person who tries to face her trauma head on.” Melinda gave her input. “Even at her own expense. I wouldn’t say that’s the healthiest option considering her previous self destructive tendencies, but she is learning how to cope.”

“Well turns out Mueller was ex-military and was active during the bombing of her home country. Of course she wanted revenge when Laurent let that bit of info slip after he recruited Lewis for the con and she tried to kill him. I stopped her and told her that revenge wasn’t worth it in the end. Prompting her to let go. After that, she and Lewis must have worked it out, because the three of us proposed a plan. Turns out that Lewis and Clark were really close, with Lewis being a mentor to Clark. It was Lewis who told Sam of his desire to race Clark fairly. Which was how that accident happened. So for the final race, Lewis took Abby’s place in the match against Clark and the two old friends finally got their fair race. I think Abby felt better after that, she even smiled at me for once.”

“And what about the con?” 

“Well even though Clark won in the end, Laurent of course planned ahead. Having altered footage that showed Abbie winning the race in front of Sam, who lost the $200 million dollars he was betting. In the end, Laurent was one step ahead of us even though we nearly sabotaged his plan. Overall, this wasn’t so bad. Aside from being tricked again, with Abbie forcing me to ride with her in a plane and then dropping me out of the sky from the parachute after it malfunctioned and crashed. Thinking that I was being attacked and mugged by Sam’s men, when in actuality it was just part of Laurent’s ploy. Then had Sam point a gun at my head, after one of his gambles didn’t end so well for him. And to top it all, I jumped several stories out of a window after being shot at by a very angry Sam Ibrahim who just lost all of his money. But other than that, it was all great!”

Melinda found herself rather amused by the young man’s angry sarcasm. But didn’t actually show it to spare the boy any embarrassment. 

“Well then that should have been your last con.” 

Makoto let out an exasperated scoff. 

“Yeah you’d think that’d be the case. But somehow I ended up in Nice, France working at a sushi restaurant. During that time I stayed at a nice Boarding House owned by a guy named Sebastian and his daughter Marie. Really nice people who gave me a good deal for a room. They were also the owners of this painting called _Snow of London_ . At the time, I wasn’t aware of the value of the art, just that it had to be worth something. Which is why, after I found out that those two were struggling financially to keep their house, I decided to sell the painting. There was this asshole at the restaurant named James Coleman, who insulted owners and really discouraged them. So I made him my target, since he was in France looking for some artwork at a good price. I had Cynthia, Abbie and Kudou help me with the scam, because I was determined not to deal with Laurent’s smug face. We ended up selling the painting to him for € 25,000 and I gave the majority of it to Marie and Sebastian. That’s when we all found out that the painting was actually worth at least €20 million and James Coleman was an art auctioneer who was called the _“007 of the Art World”_. Of course Laurent rubbed that in my face, even though now I’m sure he knew what that painting was worth. Still, I felt awful for that screw up, I couldn’t even face Marie and Sebastian after giving away their prized painting. That’s when Cynthia was the one to propose scamming Coleman back.” 

“So this time you _chose_ to be a part of the scam without prompting?” Melinda questioned again. 

“I swear that time it was for a good cause!” Makoto said defensively. 

“You don’t have to justify your reasonings to me.” She responded sympathetically. “Confidence Woman, remember?”

Makoto gave a small nervous laugh at her reassurance. 

“Anyway, it turns out that Cynthia’s old boyfriend Thomas was employed by Coleman to make forgeries of famous paintings so that he could auction and sell them. It put a rift between them and ended their relationship. Pretty ironic considering her current profession, but it was nice to see a different side to her. As for the con itself, it turns out that Coleman had a friend named Farrah who he was using to purchase several pieces of artwork he wanted at his own auctions to create a private collection for himself. Laurent ended up outbidding Farrah at the auction for Snow of London. After that, we staged our own auction for Coleman to attend putting Snow of London up for bid. But we needed a forger of our own, so we contacted Thomas and convinced him to make a perfect copy of the painting. And I gotta say, watching him work up close and seeing the results was amazing! It wasn’t like you couldn’t even tell them apart. Then again, that’s what we were going for. So now that we had our own Snow of London, we started the auction, inviting both Coleman. Initially we were going to wrangle out £70 million from Coleman, but Cynthia surprised us when she forced him into bidding £100 million.” 

“Quite a turn of events that played!” Melinda commented. 

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Makoto retorted. “We had informed Farrah about Coleman using her and his skeevy actions. Let’s just say she won’t be helping financially after that and never again likely. As for me, well…let’s just say I couldn’t let all of Thomas’ hard work go to waste like that. So I may have switched the real Snow of London and the forgery Thomas made. Which in hindsight, probably wasn’t a very smart idea. But I couldn’t bear to see Thomas’ work go in the hands of that sleaze. Plus Marie and Sebastian seemed happy with it and the others didn’t grill me for that, so it turned out ok. In the end, the worst thing to happen to me was getting mugged by some of Thomas’ debtors, the second hand embarrassment from that botched attempt at a scam I made and me getting replaced at the restaurant. And of course this all seems like it has Laurent’s underhanded tactics written all over it. But at least, Cynthia got some closure with Thomas.”

“So you working at that Sushi restaurant, was that Laurent’s doing?” Melinda inquired again. 

“Yeah!” Makoto answered bitterly. “Now I know why he even got me the job in the first place. Just so I’d have a reason to stay in Nice to be apart of another one of these stupid scams even after I told I just wanted an honest life!” 

“Hmmm. I’m noticing a pattern here.” Melinda began to peruse. “Laurent seems to be manipulating points and events happening around you in order to coerce you into this life of scamming. And despite your insistence on wanting to live honestly, you still end up going along with it.” 

“Sounds about right. And it got way worse with the most recent case.” The bitterness in Makoto’s voice grew even thicker to the point where it was dripping with rage.

That’s when Melinda began to take note of the change in Makoto’s body language. He grew tense and rigid, he began gripping the cushions of the couch and the discomfort on his face was apparent. She knew those signs all too well. They were about to delve into quite a triggering experience. So of course, she'd need to handle this gently. 

“We don’t have to discuss this any further if you’re not comfortable!” She offered, sincerely. 

Makoto shook his head and let out a deep sigh. 

“No it’s fine,” he insisted. “I need to get this off my chest.”

Melinda nodded and prompted him to continue. 

“Well we had just pulled off a recent con, when I told them I was done with it all and leaving for Japan. I knew if I continued on with this life I’d end up forgetting who I truly was. Either that or I’d end up dead. So I told Laurent and the others goodbye, and I took the first flight back to Japan. There I set out looking for a job. I applied to this firm called Scarlett Company and despite me having a criminal background and my dad’s infamy, they actually hired me. I remembered being so happy that I’d finally gotten a real job on my own, that I didn’t even question it. And the next couple of weeks that followed was back breaking work involving transporting precious commodities both in and out of the country. Shortly afterwards I met their president, Akemi Suzaku. She was very cold and intimidating, but she actually acknowledged me so I thought that must have been a good sign. Of course, afterwards I discovered a horrifying truth about the company. We visited a countryside and ended up at a farm. The workers directed us to the barn where the ‘merchandise’ was being kept. We looked inside and found three scared kids. They _were_ the merchandise. The Scarlet Company was just a front for a child trafficking ring, and I had taken part in loading onto a truck and bringing them back to headquarters. And of course me getting hired by them was all Laurent’s doing.”

“How did you realize it was him?” Melinda asked.

“On the way to Japan, I overheard some people around me mention the Scarlet Company and what a supposedly great company it was. And uncoincidentally, I continued to see several different ads surrounding me during my travels home. Since I didn’t have a job, I’d have no other option but to apply there. This seems like just the kind of shit Laurent would pull to get me in on another one of his cons. And he confirmed it was true after I called him later that day, that he wanted me to get hired by the Suzaku Empire to go undercover while they scammed them.” 

“So in spite of your previous trauma of your father’s arrest involving what you thought were charges of child trafficking and Laurent once again manipulating into another con, you still chose to go along with the plan?” Melinda pressed him. 

“Because I felt awful about children being abducted and sold off, and I couldn’t bring myself to walk away and do nothing. Even if it meant putting up with that blond asshole some more.” 

Melinda gave him a simple nod. That’s when she began to have a better grasp and understanding of his psychological state. Still she would have to hear the rest of the story to complete her evaluation. 

“Tell me about your involvement in the plan.”

“Well it involved Cynthia posing as a ‘trader’ and Shi-Won being her ‘translator’. We got Clark Ibrahim in on the plan after he split off from his brother. There we had Abbie pose as his sister, so that the organization would have their very own princess. That would fetch them a hefty price on the market. We set up a fake kidnapping and brought her back to Akemi, where she purchased her for one billion yen. The next night, I was on night duty. Laurent and I were going to bust Abbie out, while I sent the nightguard off. I let her out and we made it to the getaway where Laurent was waiting. But I couldn’t go. I thought about all those sad, broken, scared kids in the holding cells waiting to be sold off to some truly awful people. I couldn’t leave them to that fate. So I went back and tried to rescue as many as possible. But they wouldn’t leave. They had been abandoned and sold off by their families and they had nowhere else to go back to. At the time, I really wasn’t thinking about where they’d go or where we’d bring them. But the guard returned and Abbie had to go right back where he left to avoid suspicion and the extraction turned out to be a failure because of me.”

“You weren’t wrong for wanting to free those kids,” Melinda reassured the disgruntled youth. “But something like that requires further and way more careful planning.” 

“Yeah well I felt bad for making Abbie stay there as a captive a lot longer than she should have. But there was a second extraction in the works, so I felt a little better. After that, Akemi assigned me as her translator when I told her that I did know some Chinese. Since the heads of the Chinese branch of the organization that had become independent over the years were coming here to discuss business. Of course they brought their own translator. And for the first time in 10 years, I saw my father. Working with the Chinese mafia as their lawyer and interpreter.” 

“Oh I know all about Oz’s recruitment to the mafia.” Melinda stated firmly. 

“And of course that bastard Laurent knew. Right after that meeting, I tracked that asshole down and you bet I decked him into the ground. He said he knew everything about me. So that meant he had to have known who my father was and what he did to me and my mom. And there’s no way he wouldn’t have known who Liu and Chen’s translator was. I never wanted to see that man again, but here he was thrusted back into my life. And all Laurent did was brush me off. The nerve of that smug piece of shit! What the hell did he even hope to accomplish by leaving me in the dark about this?!!!”

“Laurent likely knew you’d react poorly if he had told you prior.” Melinda explained, though even she couldn’t rationalize Laurent’s asinine decision. “He didn’t want to have to run the risk of you walking out. Whether that was the right choice is woefully up for debate.” 

“It was a dick move regardless. I was honestly so fed up, I didn’t even bother pressing him about it further. I just stormed off and went to vent about it to Abbie. She wasn’t a whole lot of help either. Kept suggesting that I’d be the one to save him. Later on, I finally confronted Ozaki. He had the nerve to pretend that he didn’t know who I was. His own goddamn son. I told them to cut the crap and tell me everything. That’s when he finally opened up and told me what happened to him. How he was picked up by the Mafia after he was released from prison and worked as their interpreter and lawyer. When I saw him that day he just looked so sad and defeated. Look he was trapped where he was and wanted a second chance. And I was still angry at him for hurting me and mom the way he did, I couldn’t help but sympathize with him. I knew what it felt like to be trapped in a life you didn’t want and he was still my father in the end. So I offered to help him escape, even told him the plans for the extraction that night.” 

“I should probably tell you that I was aware of the plan from that point,” Melinda informed him. “But I don’t know the details of your involvement. It wasn’t disclosed to me. So again, if it’s something too distressing for you to hark back to, then we won’t-”

“No! No no no no no!” Makoto interrupted, agitation increasing. “You need to know just what the hell I was put through!” 

Melinda was a bit taken back by the young male’s outburst, but conceded with his demands and let him continue.

“The time for the extraction came and I was on night duty again. This time it was Cynthia who was our getaway driver, bringing a bigger with enough space for a dozen people. I got Abby out and this time I had to use a little extra incentive to get the kids out of there, via a gun pointing at them. We all headed to the van and made our escape. It wasn’t long until we were followed, then chased and eventually caught. That moment we didn't have any choice but to surrender. That’s when I saw my father step out of one of their cars, having ratted out my plans to Akemi and the group. After I told him that I wanted to help him escape his life and I was willing to make amends with him. He had tricked me. I felt so stupid, humiliated, furious and even more betrayed then I felt when I watched his arrest!”

The young Japanese sat there trembling uncontrollably and fuming in rage. 

“Edamura-” Melinda attempted to soothe, before being cut off by Makoto going on with the story. 

“Cynthia, Abbie and I were all put on a boat and sailed off towards a bay. That’s when I knew we were going to be killed. The girls were first, with Oz as the executioner. They didn’t even look scared, they just accepted it. Reminding me that they weren’t a team, they weren’t friends, and they weren’t lovers. They were lone wolves. And with that, I watched my father gun them both down. Their bodies sinking into the bay. I was horrified! I just watched two people I considered friends, despite them saying otherwise, just die before my eyes and it was all my fault. I guess Akemi took pity on me and gave me an opportunity to get revenge on the person who betrayed me. So I was handed a gun and the first thing I did was point it at Oz. The scumbag had the gall to beg for his life, claiming that he really loved me and my mother and that we could start anew. I wasn’t hearing any of it. All I could think of was how this bastard betrayed me, destroyed my life, and had just murdered two people I cared about. The next thing I knew, the gun went off and I had just shot my father. His body also fell into the bay. I just stood there in shock at the realization that I had murdered my own father.” 

At that, Melinda frowned. She knew about Oz, Cynthia and Abbie faking their deaths as part of the plan. But she had no idea that Edamura would be there to witness it and to be the one “killing” Oz. Even worse, she didn’t realize that he was being kept in the dark about it. What on earth were they thinking?! 

“After that, we went back to the building and I was put on lockdown. I was so broken and so devastated I didn’t even care what happened to me after that. That’s when Akemi decided to come and offered that maternal comfort I hadn’t felt in years. Pretty sad when a human trafficker is more understanding and soothing than the people I considered my team. It wasn’t much longer until I was back to working for them. I didn’t know if the con was still on or if I had been abandoned, but I felt obligated to keep up this act until I heard back from someone. It took two months. During that time, Akemi made me her assistant. Which meant that I became her interpreter, consultant and auctioneer. I remember just how awful I felt when I saw all those kids rounded up at the auction. How sad and scared they looked knowing that they were about to be sold off. I was fucking selling children to a bunch of sick, rich assholes! I was a monster!” 

“Makoto!” Melinda replied soothingly to the distraught, young man on the verge of a breakdown. “None of this was your fault. You need to realize that you were nothing more than a victim dragged into a ploy involving Laurent and Ozaki that should have had nothing to do with you. It doesn’t matter what you did that led you here. All that matters is that you were forced into a task, in which you didn’t have a whole lot of options and didn’t have much of a choice, but to perform it. That doesn’t make you a monster. I’m just disappointed in both Laurent and Oz. They should have disclosed the plan to you and not have left you in the dark and made you suffer.”

“They didn’t tell me because they honestly thought I would slip up and reveal the plan to Akemi while I was in her good graces.” Makoto responded bitterly. 

“Why did they think that?” Melinda inquired. 

“Because they don’t care about me enough to trust me! That’s why!” he shouted, his anger boiling before he calmed himself and continued his story. 

“Like I said, two months later Oz shows up at the doorstep of my apartment. I should’ve been shocked, but honestly after working with Laurent Thierry I was just used to these sudden twists of events. The girls were alive too of course and instead of relief, I was just numb from being tricked for the umpteenth time. That’s when he explained everything to me. Starting from when Laurent first joined team Confidence and meeting Dorothy. The very woman who my father and that blond asshole devoted this entire con into avenging her death. Who I never even met, but had to play a role in her revenge plot. I also learned that my dad was a part of Team Confidence with Laurent, Shi-Won and Dorothy. And that he was never actually a child trafficker. Him getting those charges were just the result of a botched plan that involved scamming Liu and the Chinese mafia. Which ultimately led to Dorothy getting killed. He was still a criminal and a hypocrite to me, even if he wasn’t a trafficker. I was done dealing with his lies after that. I would continue to play along in his plan, but I told him never to address me as his son again. He’s lost that privilege.”

“We all wanted to avenge Dorothy.” Melinda admitted. “Laurent probably the most, because he loved her. Shi-Won thought of her as a daughter. And Oz felt his mistake in his plan cost her life. She also happened to be my most frequent patient and friend. This was something years in the making for the people closest to her. Laurent just recruited others along the way.”

“At least they wanted to be a part of it from the start and weren’t just thrusted into it like I was.” Makoto countered, casting his eye downwards solemnly. “The plan involved having me as Akemi’s interpreter with Laurent working as Liu and Chen’s interpreter, since Oz had been removed from his duties. The plan was 100 billion yen from both groups, tricking them into thinking that Liu was offering his company and Akemi was selling part of her own for the same price. The Mafia leaders would be arriving in Japan to make the transaction in person. That involved creating this elaborate plan that involved drugging both leaders and them to this replica of the Suzaku building they’d built on a remote island. The office and even the hallway were made to look identical to the original. And when Akemi and the others arrived they weren’t meant to suspect a thing. The deal started as well as you could expect, Akemi and Liu both exchanging their money. That’s when the team crashed the meeting disguised as the police to break up the deal. I played along for the moment, that’s when I decided to get a bit of revenge.” 

“Cassano?” Melinda asked, already aware of the details involving the climax of the years-long con. 

“I had contacted Cassano and told them about our plan. I offered him a sum of the money in exchange for his help, as long as no one got hurt. He, Sam and Coleman had all been very buddy-buddy and they wanted in on some of that cash too. We did scam them after all so of course they would. Anyway, Cassano and his men showed up on the scene and we made it seem like I had called them in as reinforcement against Laurent and the team. Made it seem like I was betraying them. Wanted them to know how it felt to be tricked and used. How it felt to be betrayed by someone you’re supposed to trust. And how it felt to be at someone else’s mercy. I won’t lie, it was pretty satisfying to see the look on Laurent’s face when he saw Cassano crashing in on his con and that I was the one who called him in. I had finally beaten him, or so that’s what I made him think. Of course he saw through my ruse not long afterwards. Still I didn’t stop that from letting them all have it. Calling them out for being the hypocrites they are as scammers and con artists. I even mocked their lone wolf mantra they tried to uphold, while they spent all these years plotting to avenge Dorothy. Why did Dorothy matter more than me anyway? More than Miki even. And to emphasize that last point, I threatened Oz with Akemi’s katana. Of course both Oz and Laurent teamed up to disarm me, with Oz using the katana to cut through the blood bags I wore in my jacket. Making my death look convincing to Akemi and the others. After that was a series of incoherent violence that caused Liu, Chen and Akemi to flee the room, while we grabbed the check and the case full of cash they left behind.” 

“And I presume you all left the Mafia leaders and the Suzaku group on that Island after they found out the building and the deal was a ruse?” Melinda didn’t really need to ask, but she still wanted confirmation. 

“Well after we emailed the recording to the authorities, they came and picked them up. And with all that evidence collected they’re all going to be spending some heavy time behind bars. In the end, we all walked out with 100 billion yen from both groups. Our biggest haul yet. We took down two child trafficking rings, potentially saving more kids from the same fate. Laurent got to avenge his lady friend. Those kids that I thought I had sold at the auction, turned out were actually being bought by members of the team and we’re currently in the process of finding them homes. We made it up to the assholes we scammed previously. I learned the truth about my dad and I could finally put this nightmare behind us. Everything turned out alright in the end.”

“But you’re not alright, are you?” Melinda began her analysis. 

“OF COURSE I’M NOT ALRIGHT!!!” Makoto practically screamed. “I feel like shit! I went through shit and hell! My life has just been nothing but a major clusterfuck of bad luck and people screwing me over left and right. And no matter how hard I try to walk away I still end up in the same situation. It’s like I’m in some vision cycle that I can’t escape. And I’m forced to play the role of someone that I’m not.” 

“Were you really just playing a role?” Melinda asked, hands folded together with her head on top in a thinking position. 

“I….W-what?” Makoto stammered out, confused by slight curtness in her voice.

“You were a victim of circumstance from the beginning. From your father’s arrest and disgraced legacy that followed you into adulthood. Then there was your first criminal record that once again was yet another instance of poor circumstance that you were forced to answer for. After you served your sentence, you continued to search for work to support your mother. But because of your record, no one would hire you. Then your mother passed away, and your desperation turned into disillusion. You knew you would never be able to earn a job the honest way because everyone wrote you off as a criminal, so you felt the only option you had left was to embrace being a criminal. That’s when you fell in with Team Confidence, who used you as a significant piece in their schemes. But when you attempted to rethink your choices and decide to migrate back to a regular life, you were once again pulled back into the life of scamming.” 

“What are you trying to say, doctor?” Makoro questioned defensively. 

“This domino effect of misfortune you endured could of course all be traced back to Oz’s mistake that lead to his arrest and Dorothy’s murder by Liu. But I’ve noticed that, whether you realized it or not, you’ve emulated a lot of your father’s characteristics. From his life as a scam artist to his ideology of doing the the right thing and living as an honest member of society”

If Makoto saw himself right now, he was sure he’d look positively stupefied right now! 

“That’s bullshit!” he argued angrily. “That man is scum from the bottom of the barrel. Every positive trait and things I don’t hate about myself came from my mom! She was the one who encouraged me to find a job for myself. She was the one who taught me to forgive those. She was there for me when I was at a low point in my life, even when she was suffering in a hospital bed!”

“I’ll be the first to say that Seiji Ozaki was a below average family man who continuously prioritizes his life as a con man over his own wife and son. But I still believe that when Oz taught you to do the right thing and be a benefit to society, it was because he truly wanted you to be a better man than he was. I think you held on to that ideology because he was a source of admiration for the longest time. Even after his arrest, you still held on to it because you thought that at least you could be that man both you and your mother admire. And it’s not uncommon for a child to follow in their parent’s footsteps, even if they weren’t aware of said parent’s actions prior. That’s no guarantee that they’ll end up like their parents, of course. But genetics are an interesting thing.”

Makoto opened his mouth to retort, but found that he couldn’t find the words to say. 

“As for your mother, I do agree that you inherited your kindness and genuineness from her. But tell me Makoto, have you forgiven Oz or any of the others?” 

This was a question that Makoto hoped he could avoid. But he figured that she’d find a way to wrangle an answer out of him somehow. No point dodging it. 

“I know I should and I know mom would have wanted me to. But I don’t know if _I_ want to. Especially not after what all they put me through.” 

“Forgiveness is a choice, not an obligation. Especially if you aren’t at peace with yourself first. Whether someone deserves to be forgiven is up to no one else but yourself. It is a step in healing and moving on, but you can do both those things without forgiving them first. Forgiveness just aids in letting go of some anger and resentment and is mostly for yourself. I think that’s what Miki truly wanted for you in the end.” 

Makoto’s only response was a nod as he grew silent.

“How did you feel about the case as a whole?” Melinda decided to ask. “I didn’t play much of a role when the play was in motion, but I was pivotal in the earlier development. In fact, I was hired as Akemi Suzaku’s son Kosuke’s therapist. He was the one who told me about his strained relationship with his mother and how she was angry with him for not wanting to take over the family business. That’s why he walked out and they hadn’t spoken since. He didn’t tell me his mother’s business involved human trafficking, of course I already knew that. That’s how I deduced that the best person to go undercover into the Suzaku empire would have to be a young male around Suzaku’s with ambition and loyalty who Akemi would gravitate towards as a form of substitute towards her own son. I also interviewed former members of the company while I was disguised as an investigator. They were mortified that the company they were employed to was actually trafficking children. They told me as many details as they could and the information I gathered would help in infiltration as well as potential witness testimony. After that everything else was up to you all!”

Makoto sighed glumly. 

“I mean I’m glad we were able to take down two trafficking rings and save all those kids in the end. Who knows how long it would take to bring them down if we hadn’t gotten them. I just wish I hadn’t been tricked and forced into it like that. I hated being Akemi’s lackey. Sure that familiar maternal comfort did feel nice at first. But she was nothing like Miki. She was still a monster and I wasn’t going to be her replacement son. Is it wrong for me to be upset that I went through all this hell if it was for a good cause in the end?”

“If you’re upset then you’re upset.” Melinda answered firmly. “You can’t help how you feel. Especially if you’re dealing with something horrific and you feel like you’re being used.” 

“Honestly I should hate them.” Makoto confessed. They dragged me into this shit and I ended up scarred and nearly dead several times. But honestly, in the end I just don’t.”

“What are your real thoughts about them?” Melinda asked, curiously.

“Well first there’s Abbie. Who was pretty awful to me at first! She always took any opportunity she could to abuse the hell out of me, brushed me off and treated me like I was some screw up. But during the Singapore case, I saw a different side to her. She just seemed like she was pushing herself to the point of self-destruction to distract herself from the pain of her past. I helped her get closure when she confronted Lewis and helped mend the relationship between him and Clark. She’s been a little more friendly towards me since then. Even visited me by the end of the con, to remind me to forgive myself. Cynthia was an interesting case. She was a true Confidence Woman and honestly a piece of work. She always teased the hell out of me and found my constant suffering amusing. But she does look out for me at times and even has shown how much she cares. Almost like a big sister. There’s Shi-Won, who’s really amazing at what she does and doesn’t let age stop her. But I’m sure you already knew that. Then there’s Kudou, even though he’s technically the reason I ended up as a scam artist, he’s actually a really good guy. He even stood up for me when the Tea Company got busted for fraud.”

Melinda watched with amusement as Makoto’s expression shifted to annoyance, as he began to discuss the last member and ring leader of Team Confidence. 

“Then there’s _Laurent_. Honestly, everything about that man infuriates me! From that stupid, smug smile to his overpriced Hawaiian shirts he likes to wear. From the moment I meet him, he’s done nothing but manipulate me into joining these ridiculous cons. And I was stupid enough to go along with them. I can’t believe I ever admired that prick and strived to be like him. He’s the most pretentious, controlling and insufferable asshole I’ve ever met. Excluding my father. He’s always a step ahead of me and somehow manages to pull me back in even though I’m just eager to get out. I can’t tell you how satisfying it was to see the look of shock on his face when Cassano barged in on the scene. I wanted him to know just how it felt to be used and tricked. Of course he saw through my bluff a little while later and played it off. Still there’s nothing I would love more than to be able to get under that man’s skin!”

“Well underneath, I think you’d find that Laurent is just as broken as you are.” Melinda assessed. 

“Well I hardly know anything about Dorothy. But judging by what Oz told me, Laurent really loved her. I don’t blame him for wanting to avenge her, but he shouldn’t have dragged me along.” 

Melinda examined the boy, who was beginning to shift in his seat again. She can tell that they would need to delve more and there were a few more things that needed to be discussed, but the session was almost over. 

“Before our hour is up, let me ask you one final question.” Melinda began. “Do you enjoy being a scam artist?”

Makoto nearly spluttered in response, desperately trying to find his words. Though the question wasn’t entirely unexpected. 

“You can be honest. Whatever your answer is, I won’t judge you at all.”

“The thing is, it’s not a simple _yes_ or _no_. I know it’s wrong to scam. Scamming is what caused this mess I’ve endured, so I should say no. But I’ve still played a hand in it, willingly at times. Hell at first I bragged about being this great Confidence man and scamming a Hollywood mobster. I know better now, but there are times where I still feel like that idiot who was in over his head back then. And after this latest con, I just don’t know anymore to be honest.” 

“I think what you really seek is fulfillment. Whether it’s through scamming rich corrupt figures or through living honestly. You want to feel like you’ve made a difference and become a better figure than you were previously. You also seek the thrill in accomplishment that everyone else seeks, but you never really had a chance to have because of your misfortunes. You want to feel like you're living a life worth living!” 

At that, Makoto just sat there. Mouth wide opened in astonishment. 

“I don’t know what to say.” 

“Well you don’t have to say anything else, because you hour is up.” Melinda stated simply. 

“Wait, really?!”

“I’m afraid so. We didn’t get to cover as much as I would like today. But I think I’ll have to prepare more for that particular session. But I do have you booked for another appointment on Wednesday. Though we’ll start 30 minutes earlier than before.”

“Oh ok!” was Makoto’s only response as he prepared to make his way out of the room. 

“How are you feeling?” She asked finally. 

“I do feel like there’s been a weight lifted off my shoulder.” he responded gratefully. 

“That’s good. It’s the first step to take for a steady mental recovery! I look forward to our next session, Makoto!”

“Thank you for your time!” And with a gracious bow, the young Japanese male was lead escorted out. 

  
Meanwhile, looked at her schedule for her 2:00 pm appointment. There she saw the name _Laurent_ written in bright red. She immediately prepared herself. Knowing this was long overdue. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah that was pretty intense. So the therapy session used in the story is a combination of a bit of research, but mostly through personal experience. And since Melinda is also a Confidence Woman she's not really going to use conventional methods in her approach. 
> 
> Still I want really want to know if I did a decent enough job with this!!
> 
> Next chapter will be with Laurent.


	3. Session 2: Laurent Thierry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laurent Thierry is finally in the hot seat. And Melinda lets him have it. But she learns there's much more to it than that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S FINALLY UP!!!! Holy shit that was long. I think this is way longer than any of the other chapters in the works. Mainly because we know nothing about Laurent's life between his mother's death and him meeting Dorothy. So I had to make up alot of stuff for his backstory. 
> 
> Before you start reading, here's some trigger warnings for a couple of disturbing topics. 
> 
> Mentions of incest and attempted sexual abuse/assault are in this story.  
> Also mentions of domestic abuse and gaslighting are present in this fic. please heed these warnings before continuing.
> 
> Pls enjoy!

1:58 PM EST

Melinda gathered her notes as she prepared for her 2 o’clock appointment. In all honesty, she had been anticipating this for a while now. Though she was quite surprised that he actually agreed to meet with her. Still, she had quite a few things she wanted to say, along with things that needed to be said in regards to both past and recent events. 

Confident that everything was in order, she heard a knock at her office door. 

“Come in!” she called out, already aware of who it could be. 

The door clicked open and in walked a sharply dressed man, with a familiar head of blond hair. _ Laurent Thierry.  _

“Laurent, good to see you!” she welcomed him. 

“Hello Melinda!” the man greeted, pleasantly. “You’re looking as radiant as ever!” 

“Always the charmer, aren’t you Laurent?” she remarked a bit stiffly, gesturing towards the couch. Not at all moved by the man’s flattery.

“It’s my best trait!” he replied, taking a seat on the couch. His signature smug smile seemed a bit more forced than usual. 

Melinda made her way to her chair, facing the man across her and fixing him with a very pointed look. 

“So how do we start this? Are you gonna ask me how I’ve been these past few months that’ll eventually lead to some psycho-analytical breakdown of my being?” Laurent sounded casual when he spoke, but his underlying accusatory tone didn’t go unnoticed. 

“In all honesty, I’m just shocked you finally decided to meet with me!” she confessed. “I’ve been trying to get you on my couch for years now and you’ve made up countless excuses or even just downright refused an appointment. What changed this time?”

“Well Cynthia was insistent that we all speak with you after our recent con with the Suzaku empire.” Laurent admitted, the enthusiasm absent in his voice. 

“And you actually agreed?” Melinda questioned. 

Laurent forced himself to bite back a sigh.

“I didn’t have much of a choice, really. It’s difficult to argue with Cynthia when she claims she’s in the right. I know from experience. Even worse, Abbie took her side. And if I didn’t agree to it, she would, and I’m quoting Abbie here, ‘ _ Cut off my dick and spare every living creature the misfortune of having my penis within their vicinity.’ _ Knowing Abbie, she’d probably follow through with her threat and I’d much rather keep my testicles intact, thank you! So here we are.”

“You don’t sound like you were too thrilled to come here?” Melinda probed. 

“Well no disrespect to you doctor, but the whole idea of therapy has never really appealed to me.” Laurent was immensely blunt. “Of course, I respect the profession and the work that goes into it. But as a Confidence man and a professional scam artist, I prefer to be the one picking apart someone else psychologically as opposed to being picked apart myself.” 

“Dorothy never had that problem!” Melinda mentioned. 

“Dorothy loved to talk.” Laurent retorted. “To her, anyone with ears was obligated to listen.”

“I would know!” Melinda recalled with a smile. “I remember the first time she came into my office, I asked her to tell me about herself. Next thing I knew she was going into a full blown rant about a spoiled heiress in Budapest, with  _ ‘too much jewelry and not enough brain to know where they were coming from’ _ . She went on and on about how she didn’t deserve any of the nice things she had, how she was going to get Oz to come up with an elaborate scheme to scam her and how those jewels would look so much better on her instead. By the time we were ready to actually discuss a bit of her background, the hour was already up!”

At that, Laurent let out a chuckle. 

“That sounds like Dorothy!” His smile was both fond and sad.

Of course Melinda noticed the slight melancholy in the blond’s expression at the mention of his former lover. 

“How are you really doing, Laurent?” Melinda finally decided to break the ice. “And don’t tell me you’re fine. I’ve wanted to speak with you after what happened with Dorothy, but like I said you refused to meet with me. And frankly that should have been the best time for you to get help. I can only imagine how the torment you went through with losing her.” 

“That’s what everything was meant to lead up to in the end,” Laurent stated firmly. “To avenge her. To finish what we all started. To make Liu pay and topple their entire empire. And to make a scam she’d be proud of. It was all for her.” 

“There are healthier options to cope with the loss of a loved one.” Melinda retorted. 

“Forgive me doctor, but I seem to recall you volunteering when I had informed you of what we were planning.” Laurent shot back. 

“It wasn’t to cope with her loss though.” she explained. “I wanted to help you all avenge her and I was more than willing to help take down a trafficking ring. But I had already accepted the fact that she was no longer with us. I had to let her go. But you couldn’t, could you?”

“That’s what this whole thing was about!” Laurent countered, sounding a bit more righteous than usual. “This was really the only effective form of closure for me. Otherwise I would have never been able to move on.”

“Have you moved on?” Melinda probed again. 

“I’d like to think so.” Laurent declared. “We finished what was meant to be our last con at the time. After it took nearly a decade for the entire plan to unfold. Like I said, it was really the only effective form of closure. I even threw her ring out into the bay. That was my final goodbye. A testament to me finally letting her go.” 

“Well I don’t think you have.” Melinda stated simply. 

Laurent raised a questionable eyebrow in response.

“The truth is, Laurent, that you haven’t moved on. You’re still clinging to every last shred of memory you have of her. And whether you realize it or not you aren’t letting go.”

“And why do you think that?” Laurent’s tone was as nonchalant as it usually was, but Melinda pressed on. 

“Because you’re still wearing her mask!” she declared. 

Laurent blinked in confusion. 

“I…...I-I beg your pardon?” he stammered. Mentally berating himself for his lack of composure that time. 

“I’ve noticed it for quite a while now. But whether you realized it or not, as a Confidence man you have become a reflection of the very being that Dorothy was. A lot of what you are emulating right now; from your mannerisms, your eccentricity, your devotion to your craft as a scam artist and even some of the smaller habits you have are mirrored from her. You couldn’t continue on with the prevailing guilt you felt from her death, so to ease the pain you took on her personality. You’ve sewn her likeness onto your current identity and in doing so you created this shell or a mask, as I put it, as a means to preserve her memory. You cope with her loss by essentially becoming her.” 

For a moment, Laurent’s look of confusion briefly morphed into that of dismay, before shifting back to his signature cool exterior. 

  
  


“An interesting theory, but not one you can prove.” Laurent stated, just as flippant as usual.    
  


“Well you aren’t the same man you were before.” Melinda inferred. 

“People change. It’s often the result of time and experience.” Laurent responded with a shrug.

“Do you feel that you changed for the better?” Melinda asked. 

“Well considering who I was before, I’d say that this is an improvement.” 

“Who you were before?” Melinda leaned in closer. “Care to elaborate?”

“What’s there to elaborate?” Laurent intoned. “I was a drunken idiot, who hopped from one poker game to the next, drowning myself in alcohol, drugs, sex and a shit ton of debt. Never really cared where I ended up or who I ended up with. Didn’t really care who I put my dick into.  _ Or _ who put their dick in me. I didn’t even care if I often found myself beaten and unconscious in an alleyway after a game. That’s when Dorothy found me and pulled me out of that shithole. That’s when she introduced me to the team and their mission as scam artists. That’s when I became a Confidence Man. I was a pathetic, directionless loser with no real conviction, before she came into my life and gave me purpose.”

“So what about after she died?” Melinda inquired. “Did you still feel like you had purpose?”

“For these past several years, avenging her was my purpose. My years as a Confidence Man was partially built up to this final grand scheme. But it still gave me my identity. Made me the man I am now. And I would gladly give Dorothy credit for that. Along with Shi-Won and Oz, of course.” 

Melinda examined the blond man before her. She remembered when Laurent first joined the team and he was an open book to her. An avaricious, yet deeply insecure young man using his charm and wit to get by in life, but desperately trying to distract himself from the crippling void growing inside him. Resulting in various self-destructive tendencies. When he was sought out and recruited, he embraced his role as a Confidence man with utmost enthusiasm and played his part in the schemes effortlessly. Still his insecurities persisted and eventually started to leak into his relationship with Dorothy, who gave him new purpose and a distraction from the prevailing emptiness with the thrill she provided. After she died, he crumbled and fell apart. And over time he would put himself back together, but he no longer resembled his past self. No, this newer version of Laurent was a hardened shell difficult to crack. A carefully crafted facade that combined his perceived image as a Confidence man with Dorothy’s likeness. With many of his attributes such as his genuineness and emotional vulnerability either abandoned or hidden. 

She knew that she would have to break that shell in order to reach him. There he would begin the proper process of healing. 

“So what you told me earlier about the kind of person you were before Dorothy came into your life, what all led to you becoming that?”

Laurent raised a suspicious eyebrow. 

“Is this the part where I’m supposed to tell you about my troubling childhood? Pretty lazy psychiatry there, doctor.” he deadpanned.

“Well you said so yourself, that you were a drunkard battling various addictions in life that was leading you down a self destructive path,” she clarified, matter-of-factly. “I just want to know what caused that.”

As usual, Laurent kept his expression cool and neutral. One of the biggest challenges for a therapist was being able to read and psychoanalyze a patient who was very skilled at hiding their emotions, something Laurent was quite skilled in. But Melinda was confident that she would wear him down until he opened up if she had to.

“Where would you like me to start? From the beginning?” he asked almost casually. 

“Start wherever you want.” she told him. “You were born in Brussels, am I correct?”

“I grew up in Brussels, but I was actually born in Paris.” Laurent corrected. 

“So you really are French then?” 

“On my father’s side at least. The Belgian part comes from my mother.” Laurent sat back in his seat as he began his story. “Emma Thierry moved to Paris in her youth to find a partner. And she found it in the form of a handsome French gentleman named Jules. It didn’t take long until the two were already madly in love. Or at least they were until I was born. Turns out true love is just circumstantial in Jules’ case and having a child wasn’t worth the trouble. So he left, unsurprisingly. And my mother had to care for their newborn son on her own. Eventually she moved back to her hometown in Brussels where I lived for the remainder of my childhood.”

“Was that when the troubling childhood began?” Melinda asked him. 

“Actually the first half was pretty normal. My mother owned a tavern that was quite popular in the area. Meanwhile I was the local prodigy child always studying his languages with aspiring dreams to become a diplomat. Truth is, I was nothing but an unhelpful brat who couldn’t even be bothered to help his mother out with anything really. That became glaringly obvious when an investor named Hugo came along and approached my mother. He claimed that he wanted to secure my future with an investment, but really he was nothing more than a shady con artist. Unfortunately, my dear mother was dyslexic and had no idea what she was really signing away. Even back then I knew something wasn’t right, but I didn’t speak up. I knew I should have been the one to read what was on those papers to her, but I kept quiet and let the adults talk. It wasn’t long until we found out that it was all a scam, and she ended up signing away all of her life savings. I remember eavesdropping in on her phone call to the bank and just hearing how distraught she sounded. The next day, I tried to console her by offering to help. But of course, just like a parent would do, she tried to reassure me that everything was fine. Next thing I knew, she had collapsed to the floor. A  _ stroke _ . She was dead before she even made it to the hospital.”

“I’m so sorry!” Melinda offered sympathetically. “That was so sudden!” 

“She wasn’t in perfect health before, but I think the stress made her worse.” Laurent responded once again keeping his tone and expressions neutral.

“And what happened afterwards?” 

“After her funeral, her tavern was sold. And since she had no surviving relatives, I was thrown into foster home after foster home. The first few I didn’t stay for very long. Only a couple months, at the most. It was a routine at that point. I was put in one home with a group of strangers for a bit that took weeks for me to adjust. By the time I finally did, it was time for me to move on to my second home. Rinse and repeat. That is until I ended up with the Lambert household and their group of other foster children. There I made a fatal mistake.”

“What did you do?”

“I got attached.” 

Melinda furrowed her brow in concentration, trying to get a good read on Laurent’s current feelings with that particular subject, before prompting him to continue. 

“Jean Lambert and his wife Ava were...good people. They’d been foster parents for many years and were really good with children. They were kind and patient and even knew how to get an angry little brat like me to open up just a little. There were five other kids from different parts of the world: Mathieu, Karl, Caterina, Yumiko, and Gilbert. I was the oldest out of all of them so it didn’t take long before they began looking up to me. Jean and Ava were also multi-lingual, so when there were kids in the system who spoke different languages they were usually the best home for them. I was also studying languages, so they taught me quite a few. I even tutored the others in English and French when they were struggling to speak it. Overall, I was happy. For the first time since losing my mother, it felt like I had a family again. And considering that this was the home that I stayed the longest, I really thought this would be my new family.”

“But it wasn’t, was it?” Melinda inquired, already knowing the answer. 

Laurent shook his head. 

“After about two years, caring for six children wasn’t doing much to improve the Lamberts’ dwindling budget. Eventually they’d have to send some of them away and I was one of them. They tried to reassure me that it was for the better and that they’d find a nicer home for me to stay, but I wasn’t hearing any of it. I was just so furious at them for tossing me out like that, that I told them it would be their fault if my next foster family ended up beating me. That did nothing to change their minds, by the end of the week I was sent off to live with another foster family. Saying goodbye to what I thought was my family and many teary young faces seeing me off.”

For a moment, Melinda could see just a small hint of melancholy in his expression before it vanished just as quickly. She would let him continue on with his story to see if she’d get another similar reaction from him. 

“My new foster parents didn’t beat me, thankfully. But they were negligent and useless caretakers. I pretty much ignored them throughout the remainder of my time there. They were content with ignoring my presence as well, at least until someone from child protective services would come along to investigate and I would be bribed into putting on a good show for them. Once they were convinced that everything was going well, we immediately returned to our mundane routine. Until it was discovered that I had relatives on my father’s side living in France. They had recently discovered Jules’ illegitimate son he had with a Belgian woman named Emma and that they were willing to take the boy in. So I had all my possessions packed, and was flown all the way to Tours. There I met my long lost grandmother Eloise and grandfather Paul, who seemed thrilled to finally meet their grandson. I saw through them immediately. Truth is, they were getting older and needed someone to care for them, seeing as their own son was nowhere to be found. It worked out in the end, I got a place to stay in France and they got their personal caretaker.”

“And what was it like living with your grandparents?” Melinda asked. 

“Well to put it mildly, they were needy bastards.” Laurent stated bluntly. “Always expecting me to be at their beck and call every minute of the day. Paul apparently had a bad back from an injury years ago, which was why he always seemed glued to his chair in front of the television. Eloise was “forgetful” as she put, but only when it was convenient for her to gain sympathy and support from her peers. And I knew if I wanted to keep a roof over my head, I had to keep my mouth shut.”

“Did you attempt to learn more about your father from them?” Melinda questioned. 

“Paul kept changing the story every time I brought it up and Eloise claimed that she couldn’t remember much of her past very well. So I didn’t bring it up again. I wasn’t really interested in getting to know the man who abandoned me and my mother. He could’ve been dead in a ditch somewhere and I wouldn’t have cared. His parents didn’t seem to care much about him either, considering how he and everyone else who knew the family treated him almost like a dirty little secret. Which I never really understood at first. Until one night, when Eloise came into my room while I was studying completely drunk. She kept babbling incomprehensible things that I couldn’t make out and I asked her if she was alright. But then she kept calling me  _ Jules,  _ and went on about how she missed having me here with her again. Of course I reminded her that I wasn’t her son and that she should go back to bed. But the next thing I knew, she had wrapped her arms around my neck and tried to kiss me. I slapped her and pushed her off me. I called her a sick, disgusting bitch and that I understood now why Jules was no longer in their life. I ran away after that.”

Melinda was just stunned. She was about to speak, but Laurent quickly cut her off. 

“Don’t worry, it didn’t leave me scarred. I had no attachment to either of them whatsoever. If anything it just gave me an excuse to finally leave.” Laurent reassured, though the disgust in his tone didn’t go unnoticed. “I hopped on a train straight to Paris without even looking back. I didn’t have a plan for what I wanted, but I learned that I had quite the knack for pickpocketing. I wasn’t proud of it, but I knew that I would need to find some way to make money until I got a job. Then one day, I finally got caught by a man named Marcus. But instead of getting mad or turning me in to the authorities, he took me to dinner. That’s when we introduced ourselves to each other. He asked why a young boy like me was out in the streets of Paris by himself. I told them I was running away from my shitty grandparents and that I wanted to make it big in Paris. After dinner, he offered me a place to stay in his flat. Then he asked if I wanted a job. Turns out he owned a pub and was looking to hire some more staff. And I happily agreed.”

“How old were you when you met Marcus?” Melinda asked. 

“I had just turned 17. Obviously I was too young to work as a bartender, so I had the more boring job of waiting tables, taking out the trash, and helping to bring in a new shipment of beer. A few days into my new job and new life, I discovered that Marcus’ pub was also home to a gambling ring. Several patrons would come after closing for a game and to try to make some quick cash. That’s how I would be introduced to the wonderful world of Poker. I had asked Marcus to teach me and I would practice with him and some of the regulars. It didn’t take long for me to get the hang of it. And soon I was winning back to back games against Marcus and his patrons. Of course, that would be a perfect means to gain profit. When word got around that some Belgian boy was dominating poker in the pub, of course men flocked in to challenge him. Which meant more customers, more players and more losses. Thus more profit for Marcus through his business and for the money I won from the games. We got close after that and before I knew it, I was sleeping with him.” 

“But obviously you didn’t stay together, did you?” Melinda pointed out. 

“Well although I had a talent for Poker, I wasn’t perfect.” Laurent confessed. “And there were times where I would get cocky and go up against someone clearly more skilled than I am. The first time I lost, Marcus was angry. But I won back money for him the next day in another game and he brushed it off. It became a pattern. Every time I won a game, he’d lavish me with praise and affection. But when I lost, he would get furious and berate me. It never got serious at first. Until one day a poker champion came by looking for a challenge. He had quite a bit of money on him, so Marcus wanted to up the stakes. So per his instructions, I bet the whole week’s profit from the pub. In all honesty, it really wasn’t such a smart idea to gamble away that much money and leave it in the hands of a 19 year old. I lost the game and the money. And in a fit of rage, Marcus beat me. That’s when I finally saw him for who and what he truly is. And I finally understood what I was to him.”

Melinda offered him a sympathetic nod, before letting him continue. 

“I spent the remainder of my time with him, working to earn back the money I lost. That meant working double the shifts at the pub, making sure I won more games, and even entertained quite a few guests who were more than eager to spend some time with a good looking young boy. Marcus and I weren’t lovers. We never really were to begin with. Before I was his toy who brought him luck. Now I was just someone who was indebted to him. I wasn’t planning on keeping this up for much longer, so I tracked down the champion who I lost to and challenged him to a rematch. I bet everything I had earned and I was prepared to throw everything on the line. I guess it paid off, because I ended up winning. The money I collected was more than enough to pay off my debt. After that, I gave Marcus everything I owed him and I left him for good. After 4 years, I began my independent new life as a promiscuous poker player in Paris.”

“And I’m assuming that’s around the time you met Dorothy?” Melinda inquired. 

Laurent nodded. 

“It was a couple of years later. I had found myself waking up in an alleyway, surrounded by garbage. I had just won another game and had gotten a bit too drunk, when a few brutes who were sore about losing decided to  _ ‘teach me a lesson’ _ . Next thing I knew I was unconscious and covered in bruises. All I could do after that was just sit there and smoke, pondering my life choices. That is until a familiar face walked by, along with a monster from my past.  _ Hugo. _ When I saw him again for the first time, I remembered being so angry. I realized that this man was the source of every downward spiral that happened in my life. He scammed my mother, taking advantage of her disability and desire to make a better life for her son, left her distraught and she died as a result. I lost a mother because of him and my life went to shit. And I knew I wasn’t his only victim, so really I’d just be doing everyone a favor. I spent the whole day ghosting him, learning where he was staying during his time in Paris and where he would be later on. During that time, I bought a switchblade and I tracked him down to a remote street in the city, where I proceeded to stalk him. I took out the blade and approached him, dead set on plunging my knife into his backside. But before I even had the chance, Dorothy stood between us at the very last minute and I plunged the knife in her instead.”

“I’m assuming that was intentional on her part.” Melinda replied. More of a statement than a question. 

“Well of course.” Laurent recalled, his matter-of-fact tone still prevalent. “But back then, I could only stand there in horror when I realized I had just stabbed an innocent woman. My desire for revenge had led to this. Next thing I knew I was running. Desperately trying to get as far away from the scene as fast as I possibly could. Then somehow I ended up in a car that took me to a building not too far from the crime. And that’s where I was officially introduced to the not-actually-stabbed Dorothy and the rest of her team of Confidence Men. Turns out, they were scamming Hugo, while simultaneously recruiting me in the process. They discovered I was one of his victims living in Paris at the time, so they purposely had me come face to face with him in hopes that I would confront and attack him. Then Dorothy would take the brunt of the stabbing using the blood bags she had hidden in her clothes and fake her near fatal wound. And the rest of the plan involved her getting Hugo to fall for her while she stole all his money from his stocks.” 

“Huh. She told me about her scamming of Hugo with you as a participant in the stabbing. But she conveniently left out the part where she recruited you after you were tricked into stabbing her.” Melinda voiced her disapproval. “Or that she brought Hugo to you, expecting that kind of reaction.”

“Back then I was just relieved at the fact that I hadn’t actually killed an innocent person, if not just a bit flabbergasted at the fact that it was all a scam.” Laurent responded. “But after her explanation, I got an official introduction to the team. First Dorothy, the ring leader. Then Shi-Won, the veteran honey-trapper. Then finally Oz, their planner. They told me that their mission as Confidence men was to scam only crooks like Hugo. That’s when she recruited me to their team. At first, I thought the idea of being a scam artist seemed superfluous at best. But I did like the thought of taking down crooks like Hugo by beating them at their own game. And I was beginning to like this new crew. So on that day I became the official new member of Team Confidence.” 

“And how was your transition to life as a Confidence Man?” Melinda asked. “Did you find yourself struggling to adjust? Were you doubting yourself?”

“Well I was always a fast learner.” Laurent remarkef smugly. “And my experience as a poker player made me really good at reading people and manipulating an outcome. My acting skills weren’t as refined back then, but I made up for it with my charm. Which I used to my advantage when Dorothy and I were ensnaring our targets, while Oz came up with the plans and Shi-Won ensured that we got the money from them. I learned alot from them. Oz and Shi-Won had become akin to mentors for me. And Dorothy was literally my partner in crime. She really was born to be a scam artist. She had such fire and enthusiasm. And she loved the thrill more than anything else.”

“Did you love the thrill as well?” Melinda questioned. 

“I loved that it gave me purpose. That  _ she _ gave me purpose.” Laurent confessed. I felt like I had finally felt like I was filling this empty void that existed in me after all these years. And that I found my calling through her. That’s when I realized I was in love with her and I wanted to spend the rest of my days with her. But…”

“ _ But _ ?!” Melinda parroted.

Laurent let out a heavy sigh. 

“We were both thrill seekers. But as time went on, the cons and the targets got more dangerous, leading to either her or myself at the end of a gun or nearly chopped into pieces. Dorothy never really seemed too concerned for her own safety, but I was. It became really often when she’d come back from a job with a bruised cheek, a few cuts and even a black eye at one point. While her resolve was unshaken, I couldn’t stand seeing her hurt and I knew that if we kept this up it would be just a matter of time until she got herself killed. So I proposed to her, figuratively and literally. I told her that we should get married and leave it all behind. Of course she wasn’t keen on the idea of marriage, nor was she willing to give up what she considered her god-given talent. I wanted to offer her something to prove my love. To show her that I was someone worth spending her life with. So we traveled to Finland, and as a surprise I showed her the Northern Lights. It was something that she talked about wanting to see and I made it happen.” 

“And she was satisfied in the end?”

“If the excitement in her eyes was anything to go by, then yes! I’m pretty sure I won her over after that or I felt like I did, but she insisted that we make one last con together. And it would be the very last for all of us. Oz wanted spend more time with his family and Shi-Won would be off doing fuck knows what! But before we all retired, Dorothy already had a new target in mind. The Chinese Mafia. Our last con with the four of us. And I guess in the end it really was our last.” 

Melinda frowned. This was where they’d be delving into what seemed like the source of Laurent’s trauma. But if she had any chance of breaking through his stubborn, steely facade then she was going to have press forward. 

“Laurent I want you to explain, in as much detail as you can, what happened during that con in your own words.” Melinda gently prompted. 

“You already know the details of what happened that time, Melinda.” Laurent countered, clearly trying to evade discussing the details of the mission. 

“But I want to hear it from  _ your _ perspective.” Melinda clarified. “I want to know what happened and how you dealt with the blow. I know it’ll be painful to recall some of those memories, but I want to be able to help you properly cope with what happened and what’s happening with you now.” 

Laurent stilled. For several moments, there was a long silence. Then finally the blonde let out a heavy sigh as he began.

“Well the plan was to scam from the mafia. Which first involved me getting in good graces with their leader Liu, via a good game of Mahjong. After impressing him in our game, we staged an attempted assasination that led me to stepping in front of Liu and taking a knife to the gut. After making him think I saved his life, he and I became quite friendly with one another. I even offered my services as an interpreter. Meanwhile Oz posed as a wealthy lawyer making the mafia a good profit by buying all the children that were being auctioned, that he planned to find homes for afterwards. While Shi-Won posed as a broker, informing Liu about an Ethiopian princess currently residing in Kyoto, with Oz confirming the information. And of course, Dorothy played the princess of Ethiopia herself.” 

“And this was all Oz’s planning, I presume?” Melinda questioned, a small hint of disdain in her voice. 

“Everything except the princess part, that was all Dorothy!” Laurent recalled, noting the slight contempt in Melissa’s tone at the mention of Oz’s name, but decided not to bring that up to her. “The plan was just meant to be a simple extraction and staged kidnapping. The ‘princess’ would be leaving from university in Kyoto, where she would be ambushed, snatched and delivered to Liu. It was going rather smoothly at first. Liu had thought he had the princess in his possession and we got a huge pay out of $10 million. All we had to do afterwards was break Dorothy out and we’d be on a boat out of here long before Liu realizes that he had been conned. I was ready for it to be over. Ready to start a new life with her. But it all went horribly wrong the very next day.”

“Tell me all that happened.” Melinda urged softly. 

Laurent bit back another sigh before he continued. 

“I was on my way to bring her some dim sum, when I saw in the papers about a descendant of Ethiopian royalty assisting with reforming the Ethiopian government. The same descendant that we tried to convince Liu was our girl Dorothy. Before I knew it, I was racing back towards Liu’s compound to try to get her out. It would have only been a matter of time till he heard the news. I contacted Oz and told him to run. And he contacted Shi-Won and told him that we’d been compromised. But by the time I reached Dorothy, I was too late. Dorothy was already being escorted out by Chen, Liu’s right hand man, and loaded onto a truck. I came along with them, where we met Liu on his yacht and sailed out onto the bay. With Dorothy captive, shackled, and fixed with weights. When we were far out enough into the sea, Liu demanded to know where the money and the Korean broker aka Shi-won were. I tried to convince him that she didn’t know anything and would likely be abandoned, but he just demanded that I translate for him. Of course, Dorothy being Dorothy thought it best to taunt and insult Liu when her life was on the line. Her own last words were our mantra: We’re not a team. We’re not friends. We’re not lovers. We’re lone wolves. I think at that moment she was ready to die. But I wasn’t ready for her to. We managed to reach Oz who convinced them that Shi-Won had been the mastermind and had tricked them all. He gave her the location of both her and the money. Liu’s men raided her apartment in Seoul and found the money, but she had already escaped and had faked her own death. We had hoped that this would convince Liu to let Dorothy. We were wrong. Apparently, Liu didn’t take too kindly to a woman being disrespectful. And he had one of his men shoot her where she stood. I couldn’t do anything but just stand there and watch the love of my life getting gunned down. Her body falling off the boat and sinking into the bay, never to emerge. The only thing that remained was her ring.” 

Melinda observed the man as he recalled his most distressing and traumatizing experience. When she had learned the news of Dorothy’s passing all those years ago, she had already offered her condolences to the grieving man. But he merely brushed her off. And she didn’t press any further, opting to give him space to mourn. Now she had the chance to help him in ways that she couldn’t back then. 

She gestured for him to continue and Laurent reluctantly complied.

“After that, Liu invited me to a mahjong game that night. But I really wanted nothing more than to shove my knife into that bastard’s heart. And I could’ve done it. I had my switchblade in hand and I was sitting right next to him. One thrust and he would have been dead. But in the end I couldn’t do it. That bastard continued to live, while Dorothy’s body had sunk to the sea floor never to re-emerge. All I could do was fly back to France and hope that she was actually alive. That this was all part of her plan and she would be home laughing it off, bragging about cheating death for the hundredth time. But no matter how many times I called, she never answered. And I was left with the crushing realization that she was truly gone from this world. I was a wreck after that. I drowned my sorrows in alcohol and didn’t even leave the house for days. I was so lost without her, that I didn’t even have the will to move forward. I could only wallow in my grief and self pity. It wasn’t until Shi-Won came by to talk some sense into me, that I was finally able to attempt to pull myself out of my depressive gutter. But I knew I would never be able to truly let her go, not until I finished what she started. I wasn’t fast enough to save her, nor was I clever enough to find a way to get her out in time. But I knew with time I could avenge her. Follow in her footsteps and honor her memory, by continuing on as a confidence man. Then I would go after Liu and take him and the entire trafficking ring.”

“Well I already know that you contacted Oz while he was in prison and had him create this elaborate plan for taking down Liu and Suzaku.” Melinda stated. “Though I’m curious how much was his planning or your own doing?” 

“Well since he went undercover as Liu’s interpreter, I was left in charge with recruitment and obtaining the resources for the con to be successful. Of course we had to do a few trial run cons first, to get into practice and gain the finances. Albeit for a couple of hiccups and close calls here and there, they were all successful.”

“Why don’t you tell me about these cons you chose and your reasonings for choosing them?” Melinda began to interrogate. “And how your particular recruits had a connection to them?”

Laurent raised an amused brow. Of course Abby and Cynthia told her everything about the previous cons. 

“Well at the time, James Coleman was on my list of targets. He was a curator known for auctioning off forgeries famous pieces of art while keeping the authentic ones for himself. During which, he employed a young painter named Thomas to create those forgeries. But I was more interested in his ex-lover Cynthia, who had a hard falling out with her boyfriend as a result of his new illegal work ethic. She was a struggling actress who hustled men out of their money using her feminine charms and subpar MO that only an idiot too distracted by her cleavage would fall for. I recruited her into the life of a Confidence Woman and she accepted the job offer. Not long afterwards, I learned about the disgraced Ibrahim princes and their Pathfinder Air Races, that of course they were rigging. And one of their competitors Lewis Mueller, was an ex-military pilot and was involved in bombing in Baghdad back in 2003. One of the survivors was a former child soldier living in Brooklyn going by the name Abigail. She spent her days hustling for cash by fighting off unsavory men and taking their money. I recruited her as well, knowing that her skills were being wasted with where she was. Other fellow scam artists were sought out and recruited as well. We needed as many hands onboard as we could get.” 

“And did you get enough?” Melinda asked rhetorically. 

“Well when it comes to big cons like these, there’s really no such thing as too many hands.” Laurent retorted casually. “Still we were left with the dilemma of acquiring a crucial element in our plans: the recruitment of a young Japanese male to go undercover and gain the trust of Akemi Suzaku. Just as you instigated. Shi-Won spent a lot of time in Japan, scouting for potential recruits. None of them impressed me. Just a bunch of punks looking for a huge score with no real skill or conviction. Then we heard about Oz’s son, who had just been released from prison on fraudulent charges after unwittingly joining a company that scammed customers. And after dear Miki lost her battle to cancer, the poor boy hit rock bottom and decided to become a full fledged scam artist. He immediately became a very interesting candidate for our schemes. Of course, we needed to test his skills first. So I sent Shi-Won to go undercover as an unwitting senior citizen, vulnerable to scam artists. And while his skills were adequate, we still needed to know how he could handle something on a much larger scale. So I created this con involving a promising new drug in Japan, that I completely made up, with the Hollywood mobster Eddie Cassano as the target. In which I had approached our young Edamura back in Japan, in disguise as a tourist that he tried and ultimately failed to scam. And after a bit of dramatics involving a fake police chase, courtesy of the boy’s partner Kudo and his old gang, he was brought to me in a cab headed to the airport. And without even prompting, had followed me all the way to L.A. and was eager to be a part of the con I was planning. Thus, Team Confidence finally had it’s pivotal new member. Makoto Edamura  _ né _ Ozaki.”

As Laurent finished his story, Melinda leaned forward slightly, folded both hands in her lap and fixed the blond with an intense stare, as she began her psychoanalysis. 

“So you sought those three out because they had been victimized in some way by your targets. The same way Dorothy sought you out because you had been victimized by Hugo in the past. Goes to show that you’re either advertently or inadvertently mirroring Dorothy’s actions. Still can’t help but to wonder whether you sought them out because of their association with your targets or because their skills would be useful for your schemes?”

“I assure you Melinda that I had them utilize their abilities to the fullest.” Laurent defended. “We had several cons and targets prior to those individual ones I picked out relating to them. Cynthia was a natural, even managed to con a tycoon out of his private island. Abbie, on the other hand, just enjoyed the thrill more than anything, but with both my and Cynthia’s she proved herself a skilled Confidence Woman. Our little Edamame though…... was a bit of an interesting case.” 

When Laurent didn’t clarify what he meant when Edamura was brought up, she decided not to press him about it. For now. 

“So Laurent, I’ve already spoken with the girls in my previous sessions with them and they have voiced their thoughts about you setting up these scams that were connected to their past traumas!” Melinda voiced sternly. “Needless to say, they didn’t appreciate it. Nor did I, really!” 

Laurent let out a dry laugh that sounded more like a scoff. 

“I didn’t force either one of them into it. They agreed to it on their own terms. Cynthia was the one who initiated the con against Coleman, and was quite enthusiastic about it. And Abbie was a thrill seeker with self destructive, almost suicidal tendencies who needed some type of closure. And don’t tell me that there is no greater satisfaction than watching scumbags like that get their comeuppance. It was most certainly satisfying for me when I joined in on Dorothy’s scheme to scam Hugo out of everything.” 

Melinda let out an exasperated sigh. 

“I appreciate you wanting to help Abbie and Cynthia deal with their traumas in your own backwards, debauched manner. But I advise you to leave the therapy to the professionals in the future. What worked for you, isn’t gonna work for everyone else.” 

“I understand, doctor.” Laurent complied, sounding a bit too nonchalant for Melinda’s taste. 

That’s the moment Melinda decided to pry. Tact be damned. 

“Tell me, what do you think of Makoto Edamura?” she asked. 

The man in front of her blinked in surprise. Although he quickly shifted back into a neutral expression, the redness in his cheeks was plain to see.

“Why do you ask?” he questioned, the coolness in his tone hid his slight embarrassment. 

“Well judging by what you said earlier about him being an  _ ‘interesting case’ _ as you put, and by what he told me in our session a while ago, it seems you were adamant about keeping him around.” Melinda stated.

“Well it was your assessment that stated that a young Japanese male was needed to go undercover as Akemi Suzaku’s interpreter and assistant.” Laurent shot back. 

“And it had to be him in particular?” 

“We were short on time and options, Melinda. He was just our best bet.” 

“Yet you waited two years for him to get out of prison. Seems like that time could have been spent finding a replacement. Not only that, you went out of your way to trick and lure him back into schemes against his will on more than one occasion.” 

At that, Laurent grew silent. While Melinda pressed on. 

“So why were you so fixated on this man to the point where you’d go through such measures just to include him in your plans?”

Laurent’s impartial expression softened and the fingers in his lap began to fidget. The Confidence Man prided himself on being extremely skilled at keeping his feelings hidden and difficult to read. Though Melinda noted that the discussion of Edamura was one of the few things, other than Dorothy, that gauged some type of reaction from him. 

“That boy,” he began, a look on his face that almost resembled fondness. “When I first met him, he was just this cocky novice con man proclaiming himself as  _ ‘Japan’s Top Scam Artist’ _ . Even going as far as to try to make a bet with me on out-scamming Cassano with the Sakura Magic. Before he even knew who I was, as well as the target, the product or even the entire plan. Of course I put him in his place real quickly, and he realized the consequences for being naive and getting way in over his head. But I was impressed by his tenacity and ability to win Cassano over. I knew he was the one after that. But once the con was over, he began to rethink being a Confidence Man and decided to live an honest life instead. Truth is, he was likely just scared. There was way too much fire and passion in his eyes whenever he was scamming. It makes no sense for him to let his skills go to waste. So I brought him back into the fold.”

“So the con with Cassano was a test and he just so happened to pass it, thus winning your approval?” Melinda commented. 

“Well yes, but-” Laurent started to say, before cutting himself off with a sigh. “In all honesty, he’s something of a paradox. He’s cocky, yet still fully aware of his limitations. He thinks he’s above being a scam artist now, yet he gets way too enthusiastic during cons. He claims to want to live an honest life, yet he was the one who scammed Coleman into purchasing the Snow of London. He’s one of the most kind-hearted people I’ve met, yet can still manage to force himself to do some despicable acts for a job. He’s sensitive and has a tendency to let his emotions get the better of him, yet can still keep it together long enough to deceive the targets. He’s genuine, yet deceitful. He’s naive, yet a quick-thinker. He’s fearful, yet brave. He’s predictable, yet still manages to surprise me. And despite his occupation as a scam artist, he still goes out of his way to help as many people as he can. He’s just…a walking contradiction. And I can’t help but be intrigued by him.” 

“So what did Oz think when you recruited his son for the mission?” Melinda asked. 

“He wasn’t exactly happy about the decision, but he didn’t really argue about it either.” Laurent answered. 

“I’m not even surprised.” Melinda scoffed bitterly. “I guess even being his son wasn’t enough to be at least a bit more considerate. But I didn’t expect any better from Oz of all people.” 

Laurent frowned at Melinda’s biting condescension. 

“Sounds like you have more to say about me in regards to Edamame!” he retorted flatly. 

“Actually, yes I do!” she replied indignantly, crossing her arms. “And it’s in regards to the final grand con you had him a part of. And I’m just gonna shoot straight here: Laurent, what the FUCK were you thinking?” 

_ “Charming.” _ The Confidence man deadpanned. 

“Oh no. No, you are in no position to sass me!” Melinda shot back. “Especially not after the shit you pulled. I am about to grill you on this and you are going to listen!”

Laurent pressed his lips in a thin line as he let out a heavy exhale through his nostrils. 

“Edamura told me everything. Including the part where you tricked him into taking a job at the yakuza under the guise of a trading company. Right after he told you that he was done with this life.” 

“I didn’t trick him into doing anything!” Laurent defended casually. “He took that job out of his own volition. All I did was maybe offer him some incentive via advertisement here and there during his trip back to Japan. And he immediately applied for it. Didn’t even bother doing a background check of the company, despite his experience uphand with shady businesses behind the scenes. Hell, he didn’t even seem to question the fact that a supposed company dealing with international trade had no issue with hiring a two-time felon, having gone to jail for fraudulent charges.”

“Regardless you still played a hand in manipulating him, knowing full well that the company that you indirectly recommended was the trafficking ring you were targeting. And that you wanted him to apply for that job, so that you could have him undercover.” Melinda retorted. “You can’t blame him for being tricked, he needed to find a job and you just took advantage of that. For the second time.”

_ “He seems to be the embodiment of the phrase, ‘ _ **_fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.’_ ** _ ”  _ Laurent wanted to say, but decided no to. Not wanting to further incur Melinda’s wrath. 

“Either way, after he discovered what the company really was he decided to go along with the plan.” Laurent instead explained. “Obviously the idea of children being sold and trafficked was enough for him to act. You already know the first stage of the plan so I’ll spare you the details. But he needed to understand that he couldn’t save all those kids at once without a more solid, profound plan. They wouldn’t have anywhere to go and sooner or later they would just be replaced.” 

“And that’s when you decided to have him confront Oz for the first time.” Melinda stated harshly. “The same Oz who had been the source of his trauma and endless troubles the moment he was convicted of being involved in a child trafficking ring. The same Oz who he had felt betrayed by, despite looking up to him for so many years as his father. And the same Oz whom you neglected to inform was a part of the scam.” 

“The only reason why I didn’t inform him earlier was because I knew he’d get emotional and storm off.” Laurent argued, stroking his chin. “Obviously he didn’t take it very well when he found out.” 

“Of course he didn’t! That was his father, Laurent!”

The blonde was silent. 

“And that wasn’t even the worst of what you did to him.” Melinda continued her verbal onslaught. “Right after he confronted Oz, who tried to appeal to the boy's sense of pity, he went on with the second phase in the plan by breaking out Abbie and the other children in captivity with Cynthia waiting for them in a getaway van. Only for them to be caught and cornered by the company, who were informed of their escape by none other than Oz himself. Right after Makoto had opened his heart to him once more and offered him escape only to be betrayed in the end. Immediately following that, they were all bound and sailed out onto a bay in an execution method similar to Dorothy’s. There, Makoto had to watch as his father gunned down Abbie and Cynthia, with their bodies seemingly sinking into the sea floor. Then when given the opportunity to get revenge on the one who betrayed him, you made him think that he had killed his own father. So now, this young man has been tricked into thinking that he was betrayed by his father, tricked into believing that he had gotten his friends executed as well as being the one to execute his father, then kept captive in the yakuza, even confiding in Akemi Suzaku and forced to work with them in selling children for months. Tell me, what part of that sounds remotely acceptable or even justifiable?” 

A long pause occurred, before the man could finally answer. 

“He was never in any real danger. None of them were.”

“How do you even know that?” Melinda fired back. “As far as I can tell, there was no guarantee that Suzaku would have had someone else kill Cynthia and Abbie. Or that Makoto wouldn’t have aimed for Oz’s head as opposed to the blood bag in his vest. Hell there was no way for you to know that they wouldn’t have just had Makoto killed as well. The only thing you had to go by to ensure the success was my assessment of Akemi searching for a surrogate son and your blind faith in Oz. You forced Makoto into a dangerous situation against his will, and what’s worse you didn’t even have the decency to disclose any details of the plan to him.”

“We had our reasons not to tell him the plan beforehand.” Laurent argued calmly. 

“Which were what exactly?” Melinda scoffed. 

Laurent brushed off the older woman’s patronizing tone. 

“Well to put it simply, he has a habit of acting on his own. To be fair, so do Abbie and Cynthia. Though I can rely on them to follow through with the plan. Not so much with him. Every time he lets his emotions get the better of him, which is often, he can and will jeopardize the con. Even when he knows the details of the scheme, he’ll still act according to his own will as opposed to following the plans through the end.”

“And how often do you share the details of the plan with him?” Melinda questioned snidely. 

“Whenever I feel that he can be trusted with it.” He answered, a bit more curt than he expected. “In any case, he’s a wild card. Someone who’s actions can tip the balance of the scale and greatly affect the outcome of a plan, but you never know what the outcome will be or who will win. In the right hands, he could be beneficial. But his allegiances are way too fluid, he lacks self-control and his line of thinking is far too black-and-white. It would be easy for the opposite side to take advantage of him. Thankfully I know how to play my cards and act accordingly. I’ve always had to be several steps ahead of virtually everyone in my plans, makes it easier to counteract when things start to take a turn. And I learned that he’s easier to manage when he doesn’t know everything.” 

“Sounds to me like you’re describing a chess piece as opposed to a human being.” Melinda replied snidely. “And that you’re trying to justify manipulating a man into a dangerous situation while purposely leaving him in the dark in regards to the plan.”

“It couldn’t be helped-” Laurent attempted to say

“It DAMN well could have been helped!” Melinda interrupted angrily. “Not only did you manipulate this young into working for a trafficking ring, you further traumatized him by having him witness his friends death at the hands of his father, while also making him think that he murdered the man in retribution. On top of that, he spent the remainder of his time under Suzaku’s wing being forced to sell children. Do you have even the slightest idea of the toll that takes on someone psychologically? Or the torment and guilt he felt due to his actions or what he thought was the result of his actions? The same torment you forced him to go through?” 

“Like I said before, he was never in any danger!” Laurent justified, growing a bit impatient. “We had a few spies to go undercover inside the company to ensure that he was well and following through. If there was any cause for alarm or any kind of threat, we’d pull him out. He wasn’t being abandoned. As for those children he thought he was selling, they were being bought by our members. And we’re currently in the process of finding homes for them. So he doesn’t have to feel guilty about being a trafficker. Once we were certain that he had fully gained Akemi Suzaku’s favor by being a model employer and a potential new surrogate son for her, Oz would reveal himself and explain everything. He is his father after all.” 

“The same father who he thought betrayed him and murdered his comrades in cold blood?” Melinda’s counter was blunt and full of spite. “Also the same father who, like  _ I _ said before, had been the source of his trauma and endless troubles before he even joined Team Confidence? In all honesty, that should have been on you to explain to him. He was your responsibility. You sought him out. You took him under your wing. You forced him into that role, so you should have been in charge of disclosing that information. Oz may be his father, but frankly he forfeited the right to explain himself to his son the moment he betrayed him the second time. The reassurance should not have been from Oz, it should have been from you.”

A brief pause ensued between the two before Laurent finally spoke. 

“Well I wasn’t exactly available to supervise. I did have my own role to play, after all. Someone had to go undercover as Liu’s interpreter, with Oz out of commission. Someone whom they knew and trusted. Which was me. Besides, it was already risky enough for Oz to make contact with him in person. Imagine how suspicious it would be if they caught him intermingling with a foreigner. But he was informed of the plan and we did reveal the details to him along with his role.”

“But he didn’t follow completely through with the plan in the end, if I’m not mistaken.” Melinda pointed out. “I watched the recording Cynthia sent me. And I spoke with Makoto. So he was the one who brought Cassano in on the scheme under the pretense of being in allegiance with Akemi, as well as getting back at a certain blond Confidence Man who used and mistreated him. Mind telling me your thoughts on that, Laurent? Did you finally come to terms with the fact that your manipulation, gaslighting and negligence had led him to betray you? Were you guilty for the pain you caused him? Or were you just angry that your revenge had been ruined and the plan was jeopardized?” 

“I’m not as self-absorbed as you think I am!” Laurent bit back.

“You’re a con man, aren’t you?” Melinda retorted. “And I’d say that this entire case disproved your claim. Don’t get me wrong, we all played a role in this. Myself included. But the decision to manipulate and traumatize Edamura like that was on you.”

“I admit that I was.... _ unnerved _ .” Laurent confessed softly. “Of course who wouldn’t be angry when they’re scheme for revenge that took years in the making comes crumbling down, and right when everything seems to go smoothly. But honestly, I wasn’t even angry with him. He’d always managed to surprise me, and had finally succeeded pulling one over on me. At that moment, there was a small part of me that felt proud. That this youth that I picked up and guided had managed to get the better of me. Of course I picked up on his ruse rather quickly and signaled it to Oz. We just played along after that.” 

“So you weren't at all considerate of the consequences after using him like that? Or even had any shred of guilt?” Melinda chastised. 

“I’m not at all proud of what I did, Melinda!” Laurent admitted. “Believe me, I would have been more than happy to tell him everything prior. But my trust wasn’t rock steady and I couldn’t afford to take any other risks. His acting skills were ok, but he’s impulsive, prone to over-reacting, and very easy to read. He would have been in a lot more danger if we had told him the plan beforehand and he accidentally let it slip. His strength lies in his genuineness. I knew this would lead to a lot of distress on his part, but the end justifies the means. We walked away with our biggest haul yet, both the Suzaku Empire and the Chinese Mafia were taken down, several kids were rescued, along with hundreds if not thousands of others who would have fallen victim, and Dorothy can finally rest in peace.” 

“And as a result, you left a young man traumatized with a plethora of anxiety and trust issues as a result of your manipulation and gaslighting. Not to mention you further damaged a father’s relationship with his son.”

“You can’t blame me for that!” Laurent argued, beginning to sound a little agitated. 

“I can. And I will.” Melinda shot back. “I’m aware that a lot of the blame lies with Oz and you already know my thoughts on that man. Though this might have been his plan from the start, the recruitment, the coercion into becoming a Confidence man, the refusal to respect his wishes and the decision to not include him fully into your schemes was all on you! The end might justify the means, but that doesn’t imply that the means shouldn’t be addressed.” 

Laurent paused for a moment, looking rather uncomfortable in his seat. 

“Is there any particular reason why we are discussing Edamame despite this being  _ my _ therapy session?” Laurent rather casually complained. 

“Well for one, someone just needs to call you out on your shit!” Melinda answered crudely, before slipping back into her professional persona. “And also this is a part of my psychoanalysis.”

Laurent raised a brow. 

“Judging by what you explained to me, I was definitely right on the money in my assessment that as a Confidence Man you were mirroring Dorothy. But I think there’s more to it than just your way of coping.”

“By all means, please explain!” Laurent challenged. 

“I think what you’re really searching for is stability.” Melinda gave her input. “When your mother passed, you were forced into the role of a drifter. Tossed from one foster home to the next. Until you landed in one that made you feel like you finally had a family. Only for you to be removed from that environment and tossed around again. Eventually ending up with your grandparents, who only used you for their own personal gain, your grandmother even trying to force herself on you. Then you ran off and ended up with Marcus, who also used you for his own personal gain and later abused you. Then you left and spent the next years an aimless loner. Until Dorothy found you and pulled brought you into the life of a Confidence Man. That’s when you felt you found belonging with her and with the team. But more specifically with her. And you clung to her like a lifeline. Being with her gave you that sense of stability that you had been missing since your mother’s passing and you were desperate to never let her go. But then she died and once again your stability and what you considered your new home was taken from you. But you couldn’t let it go. Couldn’t let her go. So in a way, you became her and made it your new life’s purpose to honor by continuing on as a Confidence Man, while at the same time avenging her death by finishing what you all started.” 

Laurent was silent, his face remaining neutral and impassive. 

“But that’s not all.” Melinda continued. “This search for stability has led you to these obsessions. The most obvious being your obsession with Dorothy. Not just with avenging her death, but with emulating her, living the life she had thrived on, and being so dead set on preserving her memory you start to lose yourself in the process. She filled a void inside you that had been empty for so long and losing her felt like it was reopened. And you convinced yourself that she was the only one who could fill it back up.”

Once again, Laurent said not a word. 

“Which brings me to the second and something that goes beyond even Dorothy. And that’s your obsession with control. You felt like you didn’t step up and control the situation as a child when your mother was being scammed by Hugo. And it resulted in her death. You didn’t feel like you were ever in control when you were being thrown from one home to the next, nor could you choose where you would get to stay. You didn’t feel like you were in control when you were with Marcus, especially after you became indebted to him. And finally, you didn’t feel like you were in control when Dorothy was caught and her life was on the line, resulting in her death. You feel as if the majority of the misfortunes in your life were because you didn’t have the control to prevent it. So you compensate by controlling other aspects surrounding your life. That includes invading on your teammates' traumas and manipulating their actions so you’d have the outcome you desire. Then there’s this particular obsession you have with controlling young Edamura that goes beyond just using him for your schemes. You're under the impression that if you aren’t the one in control, something catastrophic will ensue.”

Laurent didn’t argue. He couldn’t really. Still, he had ended up breaking eye contact with her halfway through. Which told Melinda enough about how he felt about this little breakdown of his character. 

“Laurent, these are things you need to let go. It’s not healthy to cling to such obsessions for this long. Not only is it hurting yourself, it’s hurting everyone around you. Even those who are supposed to be on your side. I know you loved Dorothy, but she’s gone. It’s time to let go!”

“That’s just it though,” Laurent finally spoke. “I can’t let her go. Even now, after finally avenging her.”

“And why’s that?” Melinda questioned. 

For the first time, Laurent hesitated. But after some encouragement from Melinda, he finally confessed. His voice soft and only a little broken. 

“Because I’m still seeing her.”

Melinda’s eyes widened in shock.

“How long-” she started to ask.

“Not long after she was killed.” he answered abruptly. 

Melinda pressed her lips in a thin line. She never realized that Laurent’s grief and obsession had gotten so severe that he was suffering from hallucinations. Now she had really wished he had come to her sooner. 

“How often have you been having these delusions? And have you told anyone else?” she asked, sounding concerned. 

“They’ve gotten worse since our last con started.” he answered, truthfully. “But they pop up when I’m reminded of her. And you’re the first person I’ve told about this.” 

Melinda sighed and sat up straight. 

“Laurent, I want to help you. But you have to tell me what you want first.” 

Laurent seemed to be in deep thought. His hand slipped inside of his pocket and seemed to be gripping something inside. 

“I just want to be able to move on.” he finally said. 

Melinda nodded. If she had more time she would use it to talk more about Laurent’s mental state. But their hour was up and the man seemed anxious to end this. 

“Well you have another appointment on Wednesday.” she explained. “And I think I’m going to move the time to noon.”

“Don’t you have another session at that time?” Laurent asked suspiciously. 

“I moved it up. So you should be fine?” she answered, slyly.

Laurent didn’t question it further. He simply offered a polite farewell and made his way out of the room. But before he left, Melinda allowed herself to smile. Beginning to see a crack in the mask he wore. She knew it would take a lot more for it to shatter completely and she had a theory on how to achieve that goal. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok I'll admit that I may be self inserting myself onto Melinda just a bit! But someone really needed to call Laurent out on the shit he pulled on Makoto. 
> 
> Also tackling Laurent's mental health and trauma was one of the things I was really looking forward to. And I'm glad I got to discuss it.


	4. Bonus: Laurent Thierry Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bonus: Laurent's dealing with the aftermath of his session.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to include a scene with Laurent struggling emotionally with the aftermath but the chapter was already too damn long. So I decided to make a little bonus.

Laurent was irritated. He never planned on opening up like this. Not that he didn’t go in not knowing what to expect. He knew Melinda was really skilled at reading people. It was part of her profession as a therapist and a Confidence woman. But Laurent always prided himself on his remarkable self control of his emotions. Only conveying what he wanted people to see, while maintaining his poker face. But Melinda saw through him almost instantly. Of course she had already known both him and Dorothy for years, so she likely just knew how they tick. 

And yet he still felt so exposed. Many things about himself were revealed both to him and to her. Things that he had already known about himself. Things he had just discovered. He partially knew that he had emulated many of Dorothy’s personality traits to preserve her memory. Melinda was just the first person to point that out. He knew this entire scam had been a plot for revenge and a means for him to finally have some closure. But that was already common knowledge for most of the team. He also knew about the ulterior motives behind his recruitment, as well as how he incorporates said recruits into his plans. 

Speaking of recruits, Melinda seemed quite adamant on grilling him for his treatment of Edamame during the Suzaku con. Of course she was, no doubt his young protege had vented to him about his abuse at the hands of the “blonde asshole”. Yes, Laurent had recruited the boy for the sole purpose of utilizing him in the grand scheme. Yes, he had pulled at his strings behind the scenes in order to get him to where he needed him to be. Yes, he had left him in the dark about many aspects of the plan (including the one regarding his estranged father). Yes his methods had been unconventional, perhaps even immoral. Laurent was a con man, so he was manipulative by nature. Sometimes that meant manipulating his own team to fulfill the plan. He wasn’t proud of it, but he had achieved his goals in the very end. And just like he told Melinda, he couldn’t run the risk of letting the boy’s recklessness jeopardize the whole operation. This was something years in the making with many others involved with the scheme. 

It wasn’t as if he didn’t care about Edamame. He wasn’t just someone who was essential to his plans. Nor was he just the son of his old teammate and friend. There was a lot he admired about that young man. And having guided him into the full-fledged Confidence Man he was now had been satisfying to witness. But he still had a long ways to go before he could gain his trust and Laurent was too short on time. So unfortunately he had to be coerced into the tasks and constantly be kept in the dark. Even if it meant leaving the boy in a great deal of distress. It was unfortunate, but a necessity. Still, if things had been different and he and Edamame had more time to get to know one another....

No. He couldn’t afford to lose sight of his goals back then. Couldn’t lose sight of  _ her _ . 

Finally there were the things he never wanted to reveal. That included the delusions he suffered. He should have realized that his grief and desire for vengeance had turned into such an unhealthy obsession and it had gotten so bad, that it began manifesting as vivid hallucinations. But he hadn’t acknowledged, nor did he seek out help. Instead he allowed them to prevail. And became tormented by plaguing visions of his past lover. He had hoped that after their final scam had ended and he finally allowed himself to move on, that the delusions would stop. But even afterwards, they still persisted. And he found himself still struggling to let her go. Now he had just revealed one of his most personal secrets, without even thinking. He didn’t even know why. 

Perhaps as a cry for help? Maybe.

No. If he needed help he would have asked for it years ago. He had just let it slip out in a rare moment of emotional vulnerability. Something he would have to be more careful with in the future. 

After Melinda dismissed him, he had spent the next several minutes inside the men’s room. Running his hands under scalding hot water, too distraught to even notice. Until his palms turned red and a searing (and delayed) pain followed suit. He pulled his hands out and gripped the edge of the sink. He started to tremble, but not from the pain. No, this had started after the session with Melinda. Was he still irritated? Probably. But this was something different now. Something stronger. He gripped the sink even harder, practically clawing at the marble countertop. Suddenly he began feeling light headed. He rubbed his temples, a headache beginning to form on his now flushed face. He turned the sink back on (cold water this time), ran his hands underneath and splashed his face. It seemed to ease the dull ache a bit, but he still trembled profusely and his breathing was erratic. 

He ran a hand down his face, releasing a heavy exhale.  _ Why was he like this? Surely Melinda’s words couldn’t have had this much of an effect on him.  _

He looked up in the mirror and gazed at his reflection. But not of his current self. No, the man looking back at him was in his 20s with long wiry blond hair, wearing a striped fuschia colored shirt with several buttons open, exposing his chest, and that hideous pink coat. He reached up and ran his fingers down his cheek and the man copied the action in the exact same manner. Of course it didn’t take a genius to realize that he was staring at his past counterpart. But they both seemed to mirror that same weary expression. 

Suddenly, a pair of dark arms appeared and wrapped around the younger counterpart’s torso. The dainty manicured hand dived into the exposed chest, and stroked the pec. The source of those hands stepped from behind the man and Laurent saw the familiar figure. Those vibrant blue eyes, and white hair with the pink highlights and that same excitable smile. 

_ Dorothy. _

Usually, the sight of her would fill him with a sense of melancholic bliss. Except this time, there wasn’t even any bliss. Just melancholy. His reflection reached down to grasp her hand. Laurent did the same. But there was nothing to grasp. He looked behind and realized that there wasn’t anyone there. The illusion of his beloved seemed to be limited to the mirror, alongside the reflection of his younger self. All he could do was watch them both. 

Dorothy began to giggle, as she mimicked both men’s solemn expression. 

“Loosen up!” she teased playfully, tugging on younger Laurent’s shoulder. 

“You’re gone Dorothy!” Both men intoned miserably. “And I can’t let you go!”

Dorothy only laughed. 

“You still see me right? And you’re talking to me? How can I be gone?”

She squeezed the younger reflection tighter. 

“Don’t you see, Laurent!” she drawled, caressing the shoulder. “You can never let me go. And why would you want to? What would you even be without  _ me _ ?”

Dorothy’s words struck a chord in him. What even was he without her? What all could he even accomplish without her?  _ Who _ even was he without her? 

He was  _ nothing _ . He was  _ no one _ . She made him who he was. She was his reason for moving forward with his goals. She had given him purpose. Now she was gone. But she still couldn’t let her go. What would he even have if he did? 

He looked back up at the mirror, watching his younger reflection, staring back at him glumly with those same heavy lids. Dorothy stood by his side, cheerful as ever.

Laurent started shaking again, his hand clenched into a fist and he began to grit his teeth. In a cry of rage, she slammed his fist against the mirror. Shattering it to pieces. Both Dorothy and his younger self in the mirror had vanished. The only thing he saw was his own face contorted in anger on several broken shards. 

  
_ “So this is what insanity looks like?” _ he thought bitterly to himself. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Laurent has always strikes me as someone who struggles with processing his emotions. And he's also someone who isn't 100% mentally and emotionally stable. So I wanted to briefly touch on his state of mind involving his grief and obsession with Dorothy. And how it's affecting him.


End file.
